From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

This is My Unsung Hero, stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.

My Unsung Hero was my...

Max saw me, came over and asked how I was doing and if I needed help.

So whoever you are, thank you so much.

Today's story comes from Kara Beth Rogers.

In 2008, when she was 20 years old,

Kara Beth learned that her brother Luke had died in an accident.

She was shocked and devastated. And she

faced a task that felt impossible. She had to travel back home to the U.S. from Morocco,

where she was studying abroad for the semester. When she eventually got on the plane, she was overcome

with grief. I was sitting on an aisle, and I will never forget the way that it felt to try to sit still.

It was impossible.

I couldn't stop moving.

The strength of the emotions was so intense.

I really stood out and I felt like people were avoiding eye contact with me. They

weren't really sure what to do with me. And partway through the flight, this man came up to me.

I was sitting on the aisle on the right side of the plane, so he came up to me and he crouched

down next to me on the right side of the plane. So he came up to me and he crouched down next to me

on my left side. And he was so gentle. He made direct eye contact with me and he spoke softly and

slowly and he was really sincere. And he said, I don't, I know you don't know me and I don't know what's going on

for you, but I want you to know that if you need anything, I'm here. And I said, thank you. I never ended up

...