Between his diagnosis with lung cancer and his death, Patti Digh’s stepfather had just 37 days to live. The searing process led Patti to ask what she would do if she had only 37 more days. It was a tough question. As she says in an interview on Evolve, “The school lunches still need...
by Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim,...
Many of you have sent e-mails telling me that in reading stories and poems or watching videos on Catching Courage, you hear whispers from your own souls. Those e-mails mean a lot to me. This crazy life can wear grooves in our souls. In our darkest hours—and at the summit of our joys—we need...
On February 11th, Eva Dien Brine Markvoort recorded the last video entry for her popular blog (see below). Six weeks later, on March 27th, the 23-year-old lost her long battle with cystic fibrosis. Eva invited the world along on her journey. In her first entry, dated July 15, 2006, she was honest about her...
When I was a child, I was fortunate to have loving adults like Mr. Brolly in my life. The warmth of this four-minute animated film from BBC Northern Ireland brings them to mind. I caught courage from them because they cared enough to share their wisdom. Today families are pressured to teach their children...
Constance McMillen had a dancing partner. She had an outfit—a tuxedo. She even offered to arrive separately so no one would have to see her and her date arriving as a couple. Officials at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi gagged. Allow a lesbian couple to appear in public? What about slow dancing?...
When our good friend, Hylton, sent the e-mail below, I had just been beating myself up over having accidentally ditched a presentation from my computer. (See Pushing On.) The story lifted my spirits so I was delighted when its author agreed to let me post it on Catching Courage. On Wednesday morning I awoke...
I’m a long-time fan of Steve Goodier’s stories and have several collections of them. On occasion I’ve tucked one into a folder on my computer labeled “Inspiration”, to re-read when the roller coaster I’m riding heads downhill. I’m also a subscriber to LifeSupport. Today Steve came through for me again. You see, Robin and...
Stories are valuable precisely to the degree that they are for the moment useful in our ongoing task of finding coherency in the world. ~William Kittredge, Owning It All (1988) When I left Rochester, New York, to move back to Seattle, one of my last storytelling events was an evening of stories with the...
When the call came, I didn’t hesitate to jump in the car and drive down Interstate I-5, from Seattle, Washington, to Napa, California. My brother was in hospital once again. Something in his voice told me he needed me to be there. I’ve lived in snow country most of my life, from Idaho to...
The Strange Familiar is a young indie band from Akron, Ohio. Their YouTube channel shows a group of teen musicians with a lot of talent and a lot of hope. One of my favorite phrases from the song is, “Courage is when you’re afraid but you keep on moving anyway.”
In 2003 I let myself be talked into directing the second year’s production of The Vagina Monologues in a rural town in central British Columbia. I didn’t really think such an edgy play would work there, even though it had the year before. I was wrong. A framed poster hangs on the wall of...
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