This is the final episode of the Spontaneous Mutation podcast, where the story wraps…for now!

Halley shares that throughout the podcast she was searching for a story she could relate to about a dysfunctional family to discuss the extra layers of grief that get mixed into self-perception. So she shares more of her own struggles to better understand why it took her so long to reflect on the impact her condition and facial difference has had on her socially.

She segues into the origin story of the song, “The Raven and the Ponderosa Pine,” and ties it to one of the most enduring American tropes, that of the lone cowboy, and how easy it is to fall into isolation and despair when you believe yourself to be alone.