From Sparks to Light - Inspiring Stories for Challenging Times Suzanne Maggio

“I felt as empty as a drum,” says Molly Carr, a Juilliard-trained, world class violist. It was a career she had worked her whole young life for. She travelled the world and performed on some of music’s most iconic stages. From Carnegie Hall to the Kennedy Center, Molly has shared the stage with some of the world’s greatest musicians and yet, “the  constant focus on career and the fear that it could all go away,” sucked the joy from the instrument and the music that she had loved since she was a little girl. When a shattered glass bowl made it impossible for her to play, she found herself searching for a way to make meaning of her life.  A chance experience with a late stage Alzheimer’s patient changed all that and opened her up to a new way of using the gifts she had been given.
As she sat at the bedside of Ruth, the late stage Alzheimer’s patient, she promised her that if she could ever play her instrument again, she would return with some of her friends to play for her. Six months later she made good on that promise, and Project: Music Heals Us was born. From  prisons to hospitals and refugee camps, Project: Music Heals Us brings the healing power of music to some of the darkest places in our world.
Under the direction of Dana Martin, Project Manager for the Music for the Future Program, PMHS recently completed a seven week program with the Sonoma County Jail in Santa Rosa, CA.  participants earned certificates and school credit for their participation as part of a new pilot project with the Juilliard School in New York City, NY.
Dana Martin, Project Manager, Music for the Future, Prison Programs, PMHU
Molly Carr is the founder and artistic director of Project: Music Heals Us. A world renowned viola player, she is on the faculty of the Juilliard School and performs as a member of the Juilliard String Quartet and the Carr-Petrova Duo.
Dana Martin is the Program Manager for Music for the Future; a music composition course presented by Project: Music Heals Us. Dana is an actor, multidisciplinary artist, educator and theater critic based in Los Angeles, CA.
You can learn more about Project: Music Heals Us here.
To learn more about Robert Maggio, the composer of "Where Love is Love," our theme music, please check out his website.

To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website.
To learn more about the inspiration for this podcast, please check out Suzanne's memoir, Estrellas - Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago

Follow Suzanne on Social Media
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"No matter who other people are, when you peel back the skin, we're all the same," says Hulda Brown of her struggle to find her place in a world that hasn't always been welcoming.

The daughter of a single mom, she had a difficult childhood. She was taught that she was not worthy of love. That she had no value. That her voice should not be heard.  But despite those early messages and painful experiences, Hulda Brown would not be silent.

In 1991 she was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, contracted, she believes, from a needle stick while collecting bottles and cans to earn some cash. It was that experience, she says, that opened the door to a future that would allow her to find her voice and use it to share her experiences to educate and support others.

In this very special episode of Honoring Our Experience, Hulda speaks to us about what it was like to be a flake of pepper in a salt shaker, a metaphor she uses to remind us of the discomfort and challenges in trying to find our way in a world of difference.  On the eve of her 80th birthday, Hulda Brown reminds us that finding your voice is a powerful thing, and once we've found it, we need to use it for good.

Learn more about Honoring Our Experience Here.

Photograph from here.


To learn more about Robert Maggio, the composer of "Where Love is Love," our theme music, please check out his website.

To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website.
To learn more about the inspiration for this podcast, please check out Suzanne's memoir, Estrellas - Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago

Follow Suzanne on Social Media
Instagram @suzannemaggio_author Facebook @ Suzanne Maggio author Twitter @ bottomofninth

“I’m not Melinda Gates,” says Joy Kolin, the founder of Giving Joy, an organization that encourages and strengthens women entrepreneurship world wide through micro grants and mentorship.  “But you don’t need to be. What we’ve learned is that you can do a lot with a little.  We can all make a difference —and we should.


A self described Tex-Israeli, Joy Kolin was born in Texas but spent most of her formative years in Israel. It was those international beginnings that led her to a love of travel. Of a curiosity for exploration that would pave the way for finding her true passion. 


She’s spent her professional life working in the area of international relations —making a global difference. From health care to peace negotiations, she’s been a part of some interesting work. Work that many of us could only imagine. But it wasn’t until she made the choice to shift her focus to supporting women directly through her innovative micro grant program that she experienced the joy of truly making a difference.


As you listen to this episode, consider:


We often worry that we don’t have the capacity to make an impact —that what we have to offer might be too little. But Joy teaches us that it doesn’t take a lot to make a difference.  What is one small thing you can do today to help someone else? Joy talks about the multiplier effect, the idea that even the smallest action can produce big ripples. How can you extend your reach by doing something that has a multiplier effect.Practice curiosity. Try something new today.   What did you learn? Learn more about Giving Joy here.



To learn more about Robert Maggio, the composer of "Where Love is Love," our theme music, please check out his website.

To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website.
To learn more about the inspiration for this podcast, please check out Suzanne's memoir, Estrellas - Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago

Follow Suzanne on Social Media
Instagram @suzannemaggio_author Facebook @ Suzanne Maggio author Twitter @ bottomofninth

“I wanted to work in something that could better the lives of my community,” says Mariana Incarnato, an Ashoka Fellow and the Founder of Doncel, an agency in Buenos Aires Argentina that focuses on changing the way youth who leave residential care are supported as they find their way into adulthood.  A clinical psychologist, she worked in Spain for a few years before returning home to her native Argentina.  “My sense of belonging was very deep,” she says of her desire to return home.  “And my sense of working for social justice was very deep as well.”


That injustice motivated her. “Almost  50% of the people live below the poverty line so when you feel you belong to a community, that sense is very strong —that commitment is very strong, if you’ve had more opportunity than others.” She founded Doncel, an organization dedicated to fighting for the rights of children who were timing out of residential care. Faced with the end of care at the age of 18, young people who have been in the foster care system face an uphill battle. Without family to support them, many end up on the streets, struggling to find their way.  Armed with the knowledge that youth leaving care had knowledge to share, Mariana Incarnato and her band of activists fought to create laws that would put in place supports that would give them the help they needed to take their place in society.

Mariana Incarnato is the founder and former director of Doncel (The word means maiden in Spanish and refers to a noble young man who is not ready to leave the castle for war), In 2012 she was chosen as an Ashoka fellow, an organization that celebrates global change makers.


As you listen to this episode, consider:


Each of us have an opportunity to create a community where we all belong. Which are the communities where you feel a sense of belonging?Mariana believes that if we are fortunate enough to have opportunity, we can do something that could better the lives of others. Where have you been given opportunity?  Is there something you can do to share what you have been given?Who are the voices that need to be heard in society?  What might we learn if we could take the time to listen?Learn more about Mariana’s work here.Visit her Ashoka Fellows page here.To learn more about Robert Maggio, the composer of "Where Love is Love," our theme music, please check out his website.

To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website.
To learn more about the inspiration for this podcast, please check out Suzanne's memoir, Estrellas - Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago

Follow Suzanne on Social Media
Instagram @suzannemaggio_author Facebook @ Suzanne Maggio author Twitter @ bottomofninth

Florencia Lalor’s adopted family always spoke openly of her adoption. “It was one of the things they did right,” she says. And if she ever wanted to search for her birth mother, she always knew she would have their support. That moment came in 2004, when curious about the mother that gave her up, she grabbed the phone book and began making calls. What she discovered set her on a path that would change her personal and professional worlds.
Florencia Lalor has spent her life working to understand the experience of adoption. An adoptee herself, she has spoken to hundreds of adoptees from all corners of the world. “I found one common thing… that we all have in common,” she says of the experience of the adoptee, “And that is that very profound fear of not being loved.”
Florencia Lalor is a psychologist and social worker in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is the founder of La Voz del Hijo, a virtual platform for adoptees to bring their voices forward. She is co-author, (Belén López Medus y María Casabal)  of a children’s book, Ojos Color Cafe, Hazel Eyes, that is geared towards helping adoptees speak out about their experience.
As you listen to this episode, consider:
Florencia says that the early wound created when a child is given up for adoption creates a “fear of not being loved”, a fear that exists, no matter how much they are loved by their new family. How might knowing that help us to understand the journey of friends who are adopted.How does knowing where you come from affect your sense of belonging —or deepen your understanding of yourself?A truth about adoption is that adoptees belong to two families. Creating space for that duality is critical for the adoptee. Think about the “families” that you belong to. How do you integrate them in your own life?You can learn more about Florencia's work here.
To learn more about Robert Maggio, the composer of "Where Love is Love," our theme music, please check out his website.

To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website.
To learn more about the inspiration for this podcast, please check out Suzanne's memoir, Estrellas - Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago

Follow Suzanne on Social Media
Instagram @suzannemaggio_author Facebook @ Suzanne Maggio author Twitter @ bottomofninth

This is part 5 of a special series focusing on the community of Honoring Our Experience, and their work with long-term survivors of the HIV/AIDS virus.


Harry Breaux never thought he’d live past 30. His father died of a heart attack at 50. His mother passed away when she was 51. Now, at 79, he’s outlived them both. 


Being diagnosed with HIV did not come as a surprise. “You can’t play in the water and not expect to get wet,” he says. When he finally grew sick in his early 50s, he battled three simultaneous infections that threatened to take his life. Hospitalized, he found himself forced to make a decision he never expected to make. Would he let the virus take him, or would he figh?. The rest, as they say, is history.



There’s something that happens when you accept that this is your life now,” he says. “You can beat it back …but it will never go away.” Now as an “elder” member of the Honoring Our Experience Community he bears witness to the journeys of so many who have come after him, sharing his story and  listening to theirs, holding a deep compassion and empathy for the struggle that unites them.


As you listen to this episode, consider:


Harry grew up in a small town in Louisiana, where what was acceptable was colored by a very conservative world view. How are you shaped by the culture, environment or community in which you live?When Harry got sick he made a decision that would change his life. What important decision(s) have you made that changed the course of things to come?  What did you learn from those decisions?Sharing our stories help us to recognize we are not alone. Listening to others helps us develop empathy. Who can you listen to this week?  With whom can you share your story?Learn more about Honoring Our Experience here.


To learn more about Robert Maggio, the composer of "Where Love is Love," our theme music, please check out his website.

To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website.
To learn more about the inspiration for this podcast, please check out Suzanne's memoir, Estrellas - Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago

Follow Suzanne on Social Media
Instagram @suzannemaggio_author Facebook @ Suzanne Maggio author Twitter @ bottomofninth