New StoryCorps book wants to help you find your true calling

To hear more StoryCorps stories, go to www.storycorps.org.

BOOK SIGNING

“Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work”

8 p.m. April 25. $10. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4000, www.atlantahistorycenter.com/program/dave-isay-callings.

BOOK EXCERPT

The following is an excerpt from the book. It is edited for length.

Carl McNair, 57, remembers his brother, astronaut Ronald Mcnair, with Friend Vernon Skipper, 57.

Ronald McNair lost his life on January 28, 1986, when the NASA Challenger space shuttle exploded just seconds after lift-off, killing him and the rest of the crew.

Carl McNair: We knew from an early age that my brother Ron was different. When he was nine years old, Ron decided to take a mile walk from our home down to the library — which was, of course, a public library, but not so public for black folks, when you’re talking about 1959 in segregated South Carolina.

So as he was walking through the library, all these folks were staring at him, because it was white folk only, and they were looking at him and saying, you know, “Who is this Negro?” (laughter)

He found some books, and he politely positioned himself in line to check out. Well, this old librarian says, “This library is not for coloreds.” He said, “I would like to check out these books.” She says,“Young man, if you don’t leave this library right now, I’m going to call the police!” He just propped himself up on the counter and sat there and said, “I’ll wait.”

So she called the police and subsequently called my mother. The police came down, two burly guys, and say, “Well, where’s the disturbance?” She pointed to the nine-year-old boy sitting up on the counter.

One of the policemen says, “Ma’am, what’s the problem?”

The police officer said, “Why don’t you just give the kid the books?” And my mother said, “He’ll take good care of them.” Reluctantly, the librarian gave Ron the books, and my mother said, “What do you say?” He said, “Thank you, ma’am.” (laughs)

Ron did exceptionally well at school, and he was very good in science and math. During his junior year in high school, his chemistry professor told him about a summer institute for math and science, so he went 300 miles or so from home to participate in this program. He met a professor there who said, “The highest academic level you can go is Ph.D., and young man, I think you should shoot for it.” And Ron says, “That sounds like a pretty good idea, sir. I’ll get a Ph.D.” And he went on to get a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Then, when NASA was looking for astronauts, here he was with a Ph.D. in physics.

Ron went on a space flight in February of 1984. When he went out in space and he looked out at the world, he saw no lines of demarcation. It was a world of peace, he said. And two years later, he took his last flight on the space shuttle Challenger.

Ron was a country boy from segregated, small-town South Carolina. Who would dream that he could become an astronaut? But it was his time. And he got to be aboard his own starship Enterprise.

Recorded in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 18, 2007.

Note: The Lake City library was renamed the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Life History Center.

A young NBA referee, an oncology nurse, a beekeeper, a waitress and a blues singer.

These are some of the people featured in a new book hitting the shelves next week, “Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work” (Penguin Press, $26), a collection of 53 stories from the heart of the American workforce.

In these oral histories — conversations with friends, family members, partners or spouses, co-workers and customers — a diverse group of people talk about doing what they love.

This new book fills 257 pages with people of all ages discussing what makes work meaningful to them. Culled from thousands of StoryCorps interviews over 12 years, many have neither been published nor broadcast until now.

The stories include a woman from Little Rock, Ark., who helps former inmates obtain the skills and confidence they need to return to the workforce and a longtime waitress who takes pride in welcoming newcomers and making them feel at home in her Nashville, Tenn., diner.

"We live at a time when a lot of the messages for young people, teenagers is to do as little as you can for as much money as you can and retire. The message in this book is there is a much more rewarding path, and a rewarding dream to work hard, to do work that matters, to do something good for the world," said Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps, who will be at the Atlanta History Center on April 25 (see box for more information).

Among the individuals featured in the book are three from Georgia: Carl McNair, remembering his brother, Challenger astronaut Ronald McNair; Kathy Bradley interviewing her father, farmer Johnny Bradley; and Marc Lawson and Karen Lawson, who spoke about their father, video game inventor Jerry Lawson.

A dozen years ago, StoryCorps grew out of a simple idea: ask an important person in your life to go into a soundproof booth. As Isay puts it, "If I had 40 minutes left to live, what would I ask this person who means so much to me?"

At the end of the session, participants walk away with a CD copy of the interview, and StoryCorps sends another copy to the Library of Congress, where it becomes a part of America’s history (see box to see how you can record your story).

What started with a booth in Grand Central Terminal has grown into one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, with recordings in all 50 states. A permanent StoryCorps recording studio was set up at the Atlanta History Center in 2013. Close to 3,000 interviews have been recorded at the Atlanta StoryBooth, which is one of three permanent StoryBooths in the country.

Now 65,340 recordings-strong (with almost 125,000 participants across the nation), StoryCorps speaks to the power of the bonds between families, friends, neighbors. Hundreds of the conversations are broadcast on NPR stations around the globe.

With this new book, the first section, titled “Dreamers,” features discussions with people with a wide range of occupations, including an aeromedical field tester, an NBA referee and a scientist. Other sections include “Healers,” which includes interviews with an oncology nurse and a public defender, and in “Groundbreakers,” Isay presents stories about everything from a pastor to a Ford assembly plant supervisor to a NASCAR driver.

READ MORE about Carl McNair, remembering his brother, Challenger astronaut Ronald McNair.

READ MORE: StoryCorps captures stories from the heart