Ties That Bind, edited by David Isay is a collection of personal anecdotes from people who participated in the Storycorps Project. This project was a series of oral histories from everyday people in the form of a dialogue between two of them, with one being “the most important person” in the other’s life. Isay founded the project in 2003 and it has been ongoing ever since. Copies of the participants’ interviews are preserved at the Library of Congress and certain of them, with the interviewee’s permission, have been broadcast on NPR and even turned into animations.

This book is a collection of those interviews and highlights human spirit and resiliency: stories are told of the relationships between parents and children, bosses and employees, teachers and students, even between the mother of a murdered man and his murderer. Really diverse and eye-opening stuff. One of my former tenants and her mom even participated in this project (but they aren’t in this book.) ( )

As with Listening Is an Act of Love, the previous StoryCorps book on my "read" list, this is an audio version of a longer book which I intend, someday, to read in full. These stories were meant to be listened to though, and they are fantastic, as is the commentary between Scott Simon and Dave Isay that runs between them. I came home from work bawling my eyes out after finishing listening to this in the car, but they were the best possible kind of tears. I'd like to give this CD to every person I know, but sadly, cannot, so if you can find it at your library or have 10 bucks to spend, get it! ( )

Two facts must be served up right from the start -- in the interest of full disclosure. First, I'm a news director at a public radio station in Western New York that airs StoryCorps segments each week. Second, a team of StoryCorps facilitators visited our region this autumn (2016) and parked its distinctive Airstream mobile recording studio on Buffalo's emerging downtown waterfront. Having said that, I'm convinced that I would have enjoyed this touching anthology even without my direct connections to the StoryCorps project. The characters we meet are genuine, colorful and insightful. Some stories will undoubtedly bring a tear to your eye. If you've been a regular StoryCorps listener, a few of the vignettes will ring familiar. But like any great story, you'll likely enjoy the repeat performances. ( )

As an avid listener to StoryCorps, I recognized a fair amount of the stories.

It was a quick read, and made me smile, but honestly, it wasn't as impactful to me as when I hear them on the radio. ( )

Life got you down? Look no further than this little collection of true stories recorded in the last ten years by Storycorps. I guarantee you will feel lifted up by the experiences of these folks. ( )