My Unsung Hero

When Olivia was in sixth grade, her teacher planned a Father’s Day softball game for students and their dads. But Olivia's father had recently been moved into a hospital with a rare case of both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. A young man named Bob showed up in his place.

Two months before her daughter started college, Barbara’s husband died. On move-in day, an unsung hero helped carry her through it.

On the day her divorce was finalized, Kristi set out alone on a mountain hike. When she broke down on the trail, a stranger asked if she needed a hug — and helped her find the strength to keep going. 

After a car clipped her bike in San Francisco, Joann suddenly found herself laid out on the asphalt. But a kind and whimsical hero stopped to help her get back on her feet.

In 2007, Larry helped his brother Marty move to Utah. Marty had terminal cancer, and he and his wife wanted to be near family in the final days of his life. When they arrived, neighbors and church members — strangers — had transformed Marty’s new house into a warm home.

Today, we bring you a bonus episode from the team at StoryCorps, whose mission is record, preserve, and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs. We'll hear from people who refused to give up on someone — even when the odds were long, or when it seemed ...