Josie Long hears stories of hope found amidst the darkness - tales of love letters, hope on the water and the man who has steered 28,000 people safely to shore across treacherous waters from the end of a phone line.

"I must admit I'm deeply impressed by people who step out and do something and say something... whatever dreaming they would do it. A Mexican farm worker Jessie De La Cruz said, 'we have a saying in Spanish, when things look bleak, esperanzas mueren al ultimo. Hope dies last.'" - Studs Terkel

The features in this programme are:

Dear John

Bird in the Breath and Other Hopeful Cargo

Send Me Your Location

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2017.