This week Sound Effect is revisiting stories about leaving home.
Leaving The Church
For Nicole Hardy, it started with an essay in the Modern Love section of the New York Times, in which she came out as a grown-up virgin. It was part of her coming to terms with the strictures of her Mormon faith. She would go on to leave that faith behind. And eventually, she left nearly everything else behind too – by setting sail on a tall ship. She shares her whole, complicated journeywith us.
Leaving The Planet
Once in a while, Puyallup resident Soyeon Yi runs into a Korean family when she’s out and about, and their minds are blown. Yi is a star in her native Korea – the first, and only, astronaut in the Korean space program. But that celebrity brought with it some unexpected consequences. She tells Gabriel Spitzerhow after leaving her home planet, she felt she also had to leave behind her home country.
Running From Home
Home is not a place of comfort and belonging for everyone. For Anastasia Selby, it was a place of neglect and abuse. And so she decided to run away, drawing strength in part from an unlikely source: the novels of Judy Blume. She told us how those storieshelped her realize what she was capable of, and how a tragedy in her adult life brought her back to Blume’s books.
Turning From Natural Medicine
Natural medicine seemed like a great solution to Britt Marie Hermes. She had had negative encounters with doctors which make her think there must be a better way to help people heal. She studied in the Seattle area and became a committed naturopathic doctor. But over the years, she says her confidence was shaken by things she saw, and she eventually had to confront deep doubts about what she was doing. She talked with Gabriel Spitzerabout rejecting her profession and its belief system, and the price she paid for leaving.
When Home Is Taken Away
When it came time for Russell Jim to leave home, he had very little say in the matter. As a child growing up in the Yakama Nation, he was sent off to an “Indian boarding school” in Salem, Oregon; where he was forced to abandon his language and culture. He shares with us how the woundsleft from that chapter in his life still hurt.
Sound Effect is your weekly tour of ideas, inspired by the place we live. The show is hosted by KPLU's Gabriel Spitzer.
