Monica McInerney grew up in a family of railway children, as her Dad was the stationmaster in the tiny South Australian town of Clare. At 16, she left home to work as Humphrey B. Bear's wardrobe designer. Years later, she made a new life in Ireland and became a best-selling writer

Jacinta Parsons was in her 20s when she became horribly unwell with Crohn's disease, a chronic disease of the digestive system. Then, doctors gave her the news she feared most

How Sophie Townsend kept on, after losing her beloved husband to a sudden illness

John Safran had a personal interest in the death of white supremacist, Richard Barrett. What he discovered when digging into the case revealed more than Barrett himself ever did (R)

Durkhanai Ayubi and her family keep alive the stories and flavours they carried to Australia from Afghanistan, in the dining room of their 'accidental' and thriving restaurant

Wil Patterson was a suburban dad who wanted all the good things in life for his family. Then he made a decision which upended everything

Helen was working as a psychologist when she became so ill she was held in a locked psychiatric ward. There she was given ECT, one of the most extreme treatments for depression (R)

Zenith Virago married at seventeen, and had two children. Then she left her young family to create a life of her own on the other side of the world (R)

When Akmal and his wife decided to have a treechange by moving to Byron Bay, almost immediately a comedy of errors ensued, involving a python in the roof, a half-finished home and rats in the wall (R)

How the man who voiced Darth Vader and Mufasa overcame a childhood stutter to build a career on his rich, resonant voice (R)

James grew up with a stutter so severe he was almost mute until the age of fourteen.

After the intervention of an English professor, he went on to become one of his generation's finest stage and screen actors.

James is famous for his roles in films like The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and The Great White Hope.

He is the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars series and of Mufasa in The Lion King.

James toured Australia in a production of Driving Miss Daisy (with Angela Lansbury) in 2013.

Further information

Original broadcast February 2013

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