Close to the Edge – Part 2

What happens when the things we hold dear start to crumble? Join us as our first storyteller faces a heartbreaking choice: let go of her family legacy or fight for a piece of the past while making a discovery about nonperminance in herself. And facing loss isn’t just about places, our next storyteller defies death itself, a therapist grapples with a hidden truth while our final storyteller navigates an unlikely love friendship running out on the trails.

In this episode of the Tell Us Something podcast, four storytellers share their true personal story on the theme “Close to the Edge”. Our stories today were recorded live in person in front of a packed house on March 26, 2024, at The George and Jane Dennison Theatre.

Our first storyteller is Kathleen Kennedy. Kathleen’s cherished family cabin, a symbol of precious memories, faces the relentless grip of time and erosion. A cancer diagnosis adds another layer of urgency, forcing a confrontation with impermanence. We call her story “Lessons in Letting Go”.

Kathleen Kennedy grew up in Oakland, CA, and is a science teacher at Big Sky High School, with 24 years teaching experience. She has won a variety of prestigious teaching awards. She won the EcoDaredevil award in 2009, and in 2011 she was a Fulbright Japan-US Teacher in the Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development. She was an Adult Participant in American Youth Leadership Program’s Trip to Thailand in 2015 and continues to be passionate about her students and teaching. When she’s not busy saving the world and working towards a sustainable future, you might find her enjoying the beauty Missoula has to offer, rocking out to Pearl Jam, or dancing along to her favorite Dave Matthews song.

In our next story, Susan Waters’ peaceful bike ride takes a horrifying turn. A brutal crash leaves her fighting for life. A mysterious voice asks a question her answer and the resulting outcomes will leave you breathless in a story Susan calls “Fade to White”.

While growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, Susan Waters longed for the days her family would camp and hike in the mountains and swoosh down the slopes of Colorado. She played keyboards in a rock band, worked her way through university as a metal sculptor, then spent 15 years as a film and video writer, producer and director.

In 1997, Susan chucked a successful career and beautiful home, packed her two dogs, two cats, and all her worldly belongings into a U-Haul and followed the call of the mountains to Missoula, Montana, wher