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Our Library

di Ruilin Zhu

Società e cultura

Stagione 1

“His grace is sufficient” (Season Finale)

Don is the first person that I have ever interviewed. He is 70 years old, born in Ohio, and his family moved to New Jersey when he was nine. Don was born with cerebral palsy and has spent a lifetime battling the disease and its effects. Despite his condition, he has managed to live an independent, meaningful life. He went to college, worked for years at the Marine Corps bases in Barstow and Camp Pendleton, California, and traveled all around the world, including three visits to Moscow. He loved playing basketball, learned Russian, and made many friends along the way. His one regret is never having married, though he has been in several relationships. Don is a devout Christian, and many of the places he visited were through mission trips. Throughout his life, what has kept him moving forward even in the hardest moments is his faith and the support of his family and friends. This episode is different from the others. Since I did not record our conversation, I am using an AI-generated voice, produced through a program called ElevenLabs, to read seven excerpts from Don's unpublished autobiography, with his permission. I have given each excerpt its own title, listed below: Living with cerebral palsy “That’s life, Frank” The terror of a bowl of soup From fear to trust An agonizing windfall from a penny stock A near-arrest in Russia The ending paragraph

“Life Is a Journey of Learning”

Sharon is 84 years old. Born to a single mother, she grew up in Southern California. Before she entered first grade, she nearly lost her mother to suicide. Sharon made her mother promise never to attempt it again. They continued to live together and support each other until her mother passed away in 1981. Sharon became the first person in her family to attend college. After graduation, she spent 40 years as a teacher, helping generations of elementary and middle school students—primarily in Northern California and Pennsylvania—expand their understanding of the world. Over the years, she outlived her husband and, later, her partner in a senior romance.. Now living in a senior home, Sharon continues to bring people together. She has organized and directed a play performed by her fellow residents, much like the productions she once led while teaching high school. Through this work, she has observed little difference between teenagers and seniors when it comes to emotions and personalities.

"A Love Affair"

Victor is 78 years old. He grew up in San Bernardino, California. At nineteen, while stationed in Memphis, Tennessee as a Marine recruit, he met June, the love of his life. June, then twenty-two, was visiting from England. They met by chance when she accidentally took the elevator down to the wrong floor. They danced, talked, and toured Elvis’s home together. Less than twenty-four hours after they first met, Victor proposed halfway through dinner. June was stunned, but she said yes. The only problem was that she was married at the time. After navigating every obstacle, they eventually married. Their “love affair” lasted more than half a century, until death did them apart. After years of mourning his late wife, Victor chose to share their story, one more moving and powerful than any Hollywood film I have watched. Two important people appeared in Victor’s story: Jack Rudin and Vernon Presley.

“You know how I’ve gotten through all of this? My faith.”

Nancy is 88 years old, and her life has taken her through Alabama, Hawaii, and California. When John, whom she had known for only 6 weeks, proposed to her in a restaurant, she was so shocked that she forgot to say “yes.” Their married life was a happy one. They adopted two sons, who later became the source of deep anguish—one had drug issues, the other had a drinking problem. Nancy outlived her beloved husband and both of her boys. Even so, her faith in God and the relationships she has nurtured over the years, including a lifelong friendship with a Filipino immigrant family, has allowed her to continue looking at life with unwavering positivity and lightheartedness. The next episode will be published on January 24th, 2026.

“I Gave That Up a Long Time Ago About Being a Perfect Person”

Dave is 80 years old. He spent the majority of his career in the U.S. Army, rising through the ranks from Corporal to Chief Warrant Officer 5. He was stationed in Europe—primarily in Germany and the Netherlands—for over a decade. Though he acknowledged having made mistakes throughout his life, he said that looking back, he would not change a thing. The next episode will air on January 4th, 2026.

“I Did It My Way”

Frank is 79 years old. His life has been anything but boring. As a boy, he twice tricked his younger brother into riding a bicycle off the roof of their garage. Years later, while serving in the Army in Vietnam, his jeep was blown up by a mine, leaving one side of his face badly smashed. After the war, Frank spent two decades in Germany, a country he loves deeply. He married five times. And it is his current wife who, as he puts it, “saved” him and showed him what unconditional love truly means. The next episode will air on November 16th, 2025.

“The Story of My Life is Resilience”

Eileen was born in China during World War II to an Irish father and an American mother. The year of her birth, her parents helped rescue several U.S. pilots following the mission known as Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. She spent her early childhood in China until kindergarten. Growing up, she endured a difficult upbringing. She took on a career she didn’t initially enjoy. Her first marriage was a painful and challenging chapter of her life. At moments of despair, her resilience, her love for her daughter, and later on the love from her second husband gave her the strength to carry on. The next episode will air on September 28th, 2025.

“Enjoy Life—It's Later Than You Think”

Mark left Georgia Tech after three years and joined the army. While stationed in Germany, he spent his weekdays typing up cigarette ration cards and his weekends exploring London, Paris, and other European cities. After leaving the service and returning to the United States, he completed his degree at Tulane University. He moved frequently, changing both jobs and cities, but always remained in the advertising business. For years, he was one of the real-life “Mad Men”—until the day he was robbed of twelve dollars (after a bit of haggling) in broad daylight. That was the moment he decided it was time to leave New York City. Be sure to listen until the end to hear his incredible insight, as he shares precious advice from his 90 years of life experience. The next episode will air on September 7th, 2025.

Welcome to Our Library

This is the introduction to Our Library. My name is Ruilin Zhu. I am a high school student from California, and the producer and host of this podcast. In this first episode, I share the curiosity and experiences that inspired me to start a storytelling podcast exploring the extraordinary stories nestled within ordinary lives. My vision for Our Library is to create a collection of voices and memories that connects us all through the shared threads of humanity. The next episode will air on August 22nd, 2025.