My Life My Story: Boone, In the blink of an eye

Life stories can unfold at a lot of different speeds. Sometimes, when a Veteran agrees to be interviewed for the “My Life, My Story” project, they lay out the details of their life in a leisurely, chronological way.

At the end of an hour or so, the accumulation of years and relationships and jobs all adds up into one big overview that often makes the teller sit back and wonder where the time has gone.

Other times, life changes in a flash. In the story featured in this episode of our podcast, Boone’s life is one of those “flash” stories. There’s a before and then there’s what came after.

What if that happened to me?

I think people are drawn to stories like Boone’s; many stories often center around these pivotal moments. It’s not just because we’re “rubberneckers,” always ready to gawk at the car crash we pass along the highway.

I think it’s because we all wonder: What if something happened in my life that upended everything that came before? What if that happened to me? How would I react? How would I move on?

And then we knock on wood or pray or do whatever it is people do to shake off an unsettling thought.

Boone’s story comes from Pittsburgh VA, where medical students have been interviewing Veterans and writing up their life stories as part of their education as future health care providers. Several VA sites around the country have adopted that model of gathering stories. The goal is to help future medical professionals become better listeners to their patients.

More about the My Life, My Story project can be found within the Whole Health website.