Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work

by Dave Isay

Overview

Stories of passion, courage, and commitment, following individuals as they pursue the work they were born to do, from StoryCorps founder Dave Isay

Told through touching conversations between friends, coworkers, and family members, in Callings, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay presents unforgettable stories from people doing work they love. From a mom telling her daughter about her bricklaying career to a father sharing his contributions to the space race as an aeromedical field tester, these stories are poignant and heartfelt intergenerational explorations into the journeys people take to find the jobs they are meant to do. Some found their paths at a very young age, others upturned their lives to change careers later in life. All discovered meaningful jobs where they could use their passions to find purpose in every day.

We meet a man from the barrios of Texas whose harrowing experiences in a family of migrant farmers inspired him to become a public defender. We meet a longtime waitress who takes pride in making regulars and newcomers alike feel at home in her Nashville diner. We meet a young man on the South Side of Chicago who became a teacher in order to help at-risk teenagers like the ones who killed his father get on the right track. We meet a woman from Little Rock who helps former inmates gain the skills and confidence they need to rejoin the workforce. Together they demonstrate how work can be about much more than just making a living, how we may find our callings in unusual places, and how chasing dreams can transform our lives.

An essential contribution to the beloved StoryCorps collection filled with many stories that have never been broadcast or published before, Callings is a tribute to rewarding work that continues to inspire everyone from students about to start their first jobs to retirees seeking their next chapter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143110071
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/18/2017
Series:	A StoryCorps Book
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	533,769
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Dave Isay is the founder of StoryCorps and the recipient of numerous broadcasting honors, including six Peabody awards, a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, and the 2015 TED Prize. He is the author/editor of numerous books that grew out of his public radio documentary work, including four StoryCorps books: Listening Is an Act of Love (2007), Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps (2010), All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps (2012), and Ties That Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude from the First Ten Years of StoryCorps (2013).

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Author's Note 7

I Dreamers

Street-Corner Astronomer Herman Heyn 11

Bridgetender Barbara Abelhauser 17

Forensic Artist Sharon Long 22

NBA Referee Marat Kogut 27

Aeromedical Field Tester Alton Yates 31

Astronaut Ronald McNair 36

Library Assistant Storm Reyes 40

Scientist Dorothy Warburton 43

Dentist Thomas McGarvey 48

II Generations

Firefighters Dekalb Walcott Jr. Dekalb Walcott III 55

Funeral Directors Don Mackenzie Byles 60

Mechanical Engineer Anne Lucietto 64

Tool and Die Maker Phil Kerner 67

Bricklayer Barbara Moore 72

Engineer and Entrepreneur Noramay Cadena 77

Sculptor Olga Ayala 81

Physicians Larry Laura Michaelis 85

Farmer Johnny Bradley 89

Actor Ricardo Pitts-Wiley 93

Oil Rig Driller Red Lain 97

III Healers

Oncology Nurse Dana Viviano 107

Hospice Chaplain Issan Koyama 111

9/11 First Responders John Vigiano Jr. Joe Vigiano 117

Ironworkers Kerry Davis Ken Hopper 121

Sanitation Workers Angelo Bruno Eddie Nieves 125

Veterans Crisis Hotline Workers Rich Barham Nelson Peck 129

Emergency Medical Technician Rowan Allen 134

ICU Nurse Michelle Alore 138

Ob-Gyn Austin Chen 142

Grocer Burnell Cotlon 148

Assistant Federal Public Defender Vito de la Cruz 153

Policewoman Pat Hays 157

Ink Removal Specialist Dawn Maestas 163

FMF Corpsman Barbara Butler 166

English Teacher Ayodeji Ogunniyi 169

IV Philosophers

Science Teacher Al Siedlecki 177

Artist and Educator Sol Aramendi 182

Beekeeper Ted Dennard 186

Bar Owner Rose Brudno 190

Salmon Slicer Leonard Berk 195

Beer Vendor Clarence Haskett 198

Entertainer Coach Operator Arnie Knapp 204

Subway Conductor Paquita Williams 209

Congressman Jim Clyburn 213

Employment Counselor Darlene Lewis 216

Waitress and Blues Singer Miranda Louise 221

V Groundbreakers

Video Game Inventor Jerry Lawson 227

County Clerk Clela Rorex 232

Pastor Eric D. Williams 237

Chef and Restaurateur Laura Martinez 240

Ford Assembly Plant Supervisor Dorothy Glinton 246

NASCAR Driver Wendell Scott 251

Building Contractor Lyle Link 255

Acknowledgments 259

Favorite StoryCorps Questions 261

Continue the Conversation 263

Editorial Reviews

StoryCorps founder Isay culls and collects wise words and powerful stories about searching for meaning in work from the more than 65,000 stories recorded in StoryCorps booths across America over the past 12 years. Every one of the stories in this inspiring collection reveals the deep love that motivates the storytellers as they discover and embrace their vocations . . . These wonderful stories reveal that work becomes meaningful to those who choose—or are in some cases chosen by—the calling that motivates, energizes, and inspires them.” —Publisher’s Weekly

“Callings will inspires readers at every stage of their careers to view work with a new appreciation for the possibilities it holds beyond the mundane.” —Booklist

“Thoughtfully organized and edited, each story is a reminder of the essential role work plays in the pursuit of human happiness. Inspiring, insightful, and thoroughly readable.” —Kirkus

From the Publisher

02/22/2016
StoryCorps founder Isay culls and collects wise words and powerful stories about searching for meaning in work from the more than 65,000 stories recorded in StoryCorps booths across America over the past 12 years. Every one of the stories in this inspiring collection reveals the deep love that motivates the storytellers as they discover and embrace their vocations. For example, Eric D. Williams, a reverand, admits that “he came into this work kicking and screaming... but my heart was pulled,” and he changed both the character of his ministry and his community by performing a funeral of young man who had died from AIDS when other churches refused to do so. Emergency medical technician Rowan Allen saved Brian Lindsey’s life after Lindsey was critically injured in a bicycle accident; the experience so transformed Allen that he became a nurse, and he and Lindsey’s family formed such a bond that Lindsey’s family showed up at Allen’s graduation from nursing school. Beekeeper Ted Dennard talks to his friend, Clay Culver, about the wisdom he’s gained from his work and the bees: “My favorite thing about bees is that they have this give-in-order-to-receive—or receive-in-order-to-give—way of living.” These wonderful stories reveal that work becomes meaningful to those who choose—or are in some cases chosen by—the calling that motivates, energizes, and inspires them. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

2016-02-03
A distinguished public radio producer's collection of conversations with Americans who "found…their way to doing exactly what they were meant to do with their lives." StoryCorps founder Isay (Ties that Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude from the First Ten Years of StoryCorps, 2013, etc.) discovered his calling as a radio broadcaster at age 22, just as he was about to begin medical school. In this book, he presents his conversations with people—ages 10 to 90 from different backgrounds and geographical locations in the United States—who discuss what makes work meaningful for them. The author culled these stories from thousands of interviews recorded over more than a decade, but many have neither been published nor broadcast until now. The first section, titled "Dreamers," features discussions with people engaged in unusual occupations, such as street corner astronomer or bridge-tender, or in more conventional ones like doctor or astronaut that have required great personal sacrifice and commitment. In the second section, "Generations," people talk about their work in a historical context. A father and son, for example, discuss their work as firefighters and the pride they take in being part of a family tradition of saving lives, while a New York-based sculptor tells her ex-husband about the artist mother who became her "greatest muse." In the third section, "Healers," Isay interviews people like an oncology nurse and a public defender, who help restore everything from broken bodies to damaged social systems. The fourth section, "Philosophers," features stories from individuals—such as the accountant-turned-lox-slicer whose work brought him unexpected Zen-like peace—who have developed especially unique perspectives on life through the work they do. In the final section, "Groundbreakers," the author provides stories about unsung professional pioneers. Two children of video game inventor Jerry Lawson, for example, discuss their father's passion for experimenting even as diabetes came to rule, then claim, his life. Thoughtfully organized and edited, each story is a reminder of the essential role work plays in the pursuit of human happiness. Inspiring, insightful, and thoroughly readable.

Kirkus Reviews