One of the biggest “gaps” for Debbie this past year was the absence of Island Women Speak, the multi-generational women’s storytelling event she has produced and directed on Deer Isle, Maine.

For the past three winters, on a cold January night, seven local women representing seven decades from 20s to 80s have bravely stepped on stage to tell revealing five-minute stories about their lives, in the tradition of Moth storytelling. The other half of the storytelling equation is the audience: packed into Stonington, Maine’s historic Opera House theatre for warmth and intimacy, their presence has never failed to create a safe space for storytelling.

It has been a special evening that this community has talked about for weeks and months afterwards. It’s meant so much to Debbie to work with these extraordinary women and to help make the event happen.

Well, it was NOT to be in January 2021.

So she decided to invite three past performers onto the show, representing three different decades (or teams), to get their differing perspectives on this pandemic year and to offer a taste of the intimacy and wisdom that the audience has loved in the past. In this short episode, you’ll hear from three women about loneliness and uncertainty but also about resilience and perseverance, the sturdy outlook on life that is typical of Mainers. 

Representing Team 30 is Amanda Larrabee who is a landscaper and mother of a teenager.  For Team 50 is Becky Siebert who has served the community for decades as a nurse. And for Team 80 is Lorraine Knowlton, a retired minister. All three are lifelong residents of Deer Isle, Maine, the remote coastal community that Debbie now calls home.

Debbie asks each of them a series of questions about their pandemic year:

– What has been most challenging for you?

– What is your NEW BEST THING that has come out of this year?

– What do you want more of?

– This has been a year of loss, but has it been a lost year for you?

Tune into this short episode to hear three women, three generations, and three perspectives on the ways we’ve all experienced this past year and how we are looking ahead.

Watch videos of their  Island Women Speak performances:

• Amanda Larrabee
• Becky Siebert
• Lorraine Knowlton

Mentioned in this episode or useful:

• About Island Women Speak
• S1-EP9: Island Women Speak: Connection, Truth, and Storytelling in Maine
• Deer Isle, ME
• The Moth (the art and craft of storytelling)
• Island Women Speak (article in The Ellsworth American, January 24, 2020)
• Why Older People Managed to Stay Happier Through the Pandemic (New York Times, March 12, 2021)
• Parents, Stop Talking About the ‘Lost Year’ by Judith Warner (NYTimes, April 11, 2021)

Note from Debbie

I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than sixty seconds, and it really makes a difference in attracting new listeners and upcoming guests. I might read your review on my next episode!

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• Blog: Gap Year After Sixty

– Debbie

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