Voices of Survival Photo
This ominous photo with the garish windows and serpentine tree branches comes from our neighborhood during the flood of 2018. To prevent vandalism, the city placed a bright light in our area. Vandals dislike entering the light.
Why this photo for the logo?
Listening to people’s life stories can be dark. But the listening process provides the light of hope and safety to the disaster area of a person’s life. Light helps prevent the psychological vandalism that happens when we don’t understand. When we don’t understand, we withhold dignity from other human beings, created in the image of God just like us. Honoring a story with your time shines a light into the darkness of the storyteller’s experience. It might reveal gnarly branches and spooky windows. But light provides safety and clarity.
After sweating and struggling to create the logo on my own, I finally turned to my friend Velinda to rescue me. Isn’t this so much better than the last time I posted it?
Voices of Survival Music
The podcast music comes from the hymn Blessed Assurance by Fanny Crosby. I was drawn to the song because of the words, “This is my story, this is my song.” But I also like using a song written by a woman who survived the horrible scourge of blindness, possibly because of a doctor’s error. Talk about surviving successfully – becoming the writer of 9,000 hymns without ever seeing the words on the page!
I got my musical friend Sarah to work up several different melodies based on this song. She does a great job of pulling the old familiar and the fresh and new all in one. Here’s one piece!
I am also super grateful to approximately 20 people who kindly picked up early subscriptions to test out the process. I think it will be good to go on Monday!
The first episode? Our friend Blanca shares about her childhood in Mexico and the trauma of a border crossing. This will be published this week as a trial run, but will be available next week to new subscribers as well.
Three fast facts about Voices of Survival:
- To access the podcast, subscribe on Patreon on Monday! What is Patreon? Patreon.com is a site where nonprofits, writers, artists, and other creators share their work. There are certain benefits that you receive if you subscribe that the general public cannot receive. Voices of Survival is different because the subscription is also a gate to protect the privacy of the storytellers from “onlookers” who don’t really care. Subscribers are invested. Even though fewer people will listen this way, we do not plan at this point to make the podcast available to the general internet public.
- It takes less than 5 minutes to subscribe, even if you make mistakes! A few people have tested Voices of Survival. The biggest complaint so far is that “United States” is about the last country on the list! (Hurray for Canada!).
- The $3 monthly subscription costs less than a pound of bacon, even if you shop at Aldi! Bacon is good. Stories that impact your life are better.
these stories will impact your life
We have already seen good things happen in the storytellers and in listeners, and I will give you an example of each on Monday. But it will definitely hold more value than spending the same $3 on a pound of bacon!
Well, don’t know about you, but our weekend is stacked with options. Work tomorrow. Two graduation parties. A wedding open house. A family gathering. Two church services. A community garden to plant. A house to clean…..
In short, gotta go. Thanks for listening! Come back Monday!
P.S. In case you did not hear this trailer the first time we posted it. On this audio, you hear six of the voices, and hear Marnell and I discuss the vision for the podcast.