Tiny Victories

As listeners may be aware, Annabelle is kind of a book snob. This means she’s not necessarily going to read the popular books that Oprah taps for her book club until years after they came out. And if she ever DOES read an Oprah Book Club selection, she’ll often be surprised that it’s not just popular, but also good! Annabelle tells Laura about three books she highly recommends. Plus, Amanda calls in with a banking victory that took a year to address, and three minutes to resolve.

Annabelle returns from Europe–again!--where she spoke at The World Conference on Lung Cancer in Vienna, Austria. She tells House about dancing in castles with the the world’s most preeminent scientists researching lung cancer…but that’s not the actual victory. Her tiny victory sprang from a conversation she had with Jacob Kaufman, PhD, that completely upended Annabelle’s lifelong aversion to learning hard science. The theater nerd has become a science nerd, and all it took was socializing with a bunch of brilliant scientists in Austria.

We received an email from 7th grade teacher Suzie that was so moving Annabelle reached for the tissue box as we recorded. Plus, August calls in with a victory that takes us back to the 70s and 80s.

It will surprise no one to learn that Annabelle was a bookish kid–a bookish kid who wrote lots of bad poetry that was published in [lit magazine]. Annabelle was so scarred by her poetry, that she avoided it entirely. And then she attended a meditation class online lead by Rich Panico. Rich did something that brought Annabelle back to poetry, and she reveals what that is. Plus, a hotline call from a younger listener takes Laura and Annabelle back to high school.

This week, a new milestone! House tells Annabelle, “I listened to you for once”. This milestone lead to a breakthrough tiny victory for House: it was inspired by Merch Gurtch’s (Annabelle’s roadie name) account of the noisy Belgian frogs. Plus, we'll hear which two artists helped a listener through a really difficult breakup when she was in high school.

This past June, “Merch Gurtch” (a.k.a. Annabelle) toured Europe in a van w/ heavy metal band Dead Poet Society. Her trip got off to a rocky start, however, as soon as she arrived at London’s Heathrow airport and realized…she hadn’t arranged for international phone calls on her cell phone, a detail House found wholly unsurprising. How does a person traveling in 2022 coordinate getting picked up at the airport when she’s (technologically) stuck in the late 80s? And how can this be a victory?

Annabelle and Laura are back from hiatus, recharged and ready to hand out trophies to anyone that wants recognition for something tiny!

Annabelle acquired the nickname ‘Merch Gurtch’ this summer. You know, when she toured Europe in a van selling merchandise for the heavy metal band Dead Poet Society, with which she traveled. She’ll share a few highlights, as well as an earnest message to our nation’s elementary school teachers. Plus, Abby from Wisconsin has a huge weight lifted off her shoulders–a weight that had been resting there for almost a year.

**After this episode aired, we got a call on the Tiny Victories hotline from René Marie herself. If you want to hear her message and Laura’s reaction to it, take a listen to The Worst Year**

In this week’s episode, Laura House brings us a tiny victory demonstrating the wisdom of “less is more” in one’s online dating profile. The decision to not share a seemingly irrelevant truth about herself turned out to be one of the most consequential decisions of House’s life. But this episode isn’t about that huge decision. It’s about something tiny that happened as a result of that monumental decision House made, and it has to do with being open to new experiences, liminal space, and the exquisite power of René Marie.

This week’s tale is less of a tiny victory than it is an epic poem. It’s the story of how Laura House had to overcome her fears so she could slay the dragon that threatened--in a tiny way--her, and everyone she worked with. Annabellefinds a way to make House’s triumph seem even grander. Plus, an Australian listener calls into the show to explain why her 2021 calendar is her favorite thing that Laura predicted unintentionally.

If you read Annabelle’s op-ed in the New York Times about being diagnosed with lung cancer, you might be able to infer this year has been a bit much. So why would a friend recommend Annabelle watch the play We’re Gonna Die by Young Jean Lee, in which the playwright talks about her father dying...of lung cancer?