After leaving suburban Tennessee for a career in Hollywood when he was just 18, Brad Wear became, in a lot of ways, the picture of LA success. But twenty years later, Brad was struck with a feeling of absence, of being fully out of touch — with himself and his family, from whom he'd been estranged. Brad tells the story about his journey to reconnect and the cost of finding home again to poet Chance Chambers, who takes what he hears and composes an original poem.

Versify is a production of Nashville Public Radio and The Porch, Nashville’s nonprofit literary center. Editing and production came from Susannah Felts, with additional editing by Anita Bugg. The episode was hosted, scripted, and produced by Joshua Moore. Today’s story and poem were recorded by Tasha Lemley at OZ Art’s 2018 MusiCircus Event.

The music is by Chad Crouch, Jahzzar, Podington Bear, and Yair Yona, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Versify is distributed by PRX.