Hey, it's Chloe Salmon from The Moth. As a story director, I talk to a lot of people who say they want to tell a story but don't know where to start. A tip I give them, get specific. What's a moment that meant something to you? Your first home run, that road trip with your dad, the time you bombed at the talent show. Start there, then build on that foundation. You can find tips to help

you identify those moments along with prompts to inspire them in the Moth's new guided journal,

My Life and Stories. Whether you want to find your own story, reflect on your life, or even give it as a

gift, you can order your copy at the moth.org forward slash my life and stories. That's the moth.org forward slash my life and stories.

That's the moth.org forward slash my life and stories.

This is a moth radio hour.

I'm your host, Alistair Bain.

In this episode, we'll be celebrating the bonds between people and animals.

I live in Colorado with an assorted pack of dogs and foster dogs, including two formerly feral dogs and a pit bull that carries his teddy bear with him wherever he goes.

I've learned so much from my own pets about courage, resilience, loyalty, and I even developed some fairly advanced re-uolstering skills because sometimes a sofa will be mistaken for a rather large chew toy. In this hour, we will hear seven storytellers

share stories about themselves and their relationship to the animal kingdom.

Catherine Palmer told this first story at an open-mic story slam we produced in Pittsburgh,

where we partner with Public Radio Station WESA.

Live from the Rex Theater, here's Catherine Palmer.

I'm a city person. I wasn't born in the city. I moved to the city to the south side of Pittsburgh as an adult.

Now, city people expect a couple things.

Light and noise.

And we get pretty nervous if it gets too dark or too quiet.

Now we're the only people in our family that live in the city.

My husband's four sisters live in dark, quiet places.

And the darkest quiet as home is my sister-in-law who runs a hostel

with her husband and her two little girls.

...