Narrators

The stories of those who have lived a century or more remind us that home is a complex and wondrous concept: where we experience security and insecurity, where we make and remake our identities, and that home changes and contradicts while also offering stability, empowerment, hope, and grace.

Meet the narrators from Home is Everything:

A Place Where You're Accepted: At 100 years old, Ms. B.S. defines homes as more than a structure. Home is belonging and memory.

image of forest similar to the terrain Ms. AM.BS grew up in

This Belongs to Pauline: Learn about Ms. W., a 102 year old who remembers her family's fight for a home built on freedom.

Bringing Freedom Home: 102-year-old Mr. B. reflects on being drafted into World War II and his lifelong roots in Richmond.

The liberation of France in the Second World War

Built by Hand, Held by Love: Ms. B., a beloved family matriarch who has lived across the U.S., reflects on home and finding where she belongs.

close up of a man doing carpentry by hand

Home is Everything: Ms. S. reflects on a life shaped by resilience, loss, joy, care, and why home means everything.

Keeping Close, Staying Safe: Mr. LC. reflects on growing up in a diverse immigrant tenement community and his journey as a brother, school principal, father, and grandfather.

Image of tenements where he grew up, with an orange and teal overlay

Ms. DG. grew up in Manhattan. "It was home". She loved that "you could walk. You could go so many places. It was never boring. You never sat in the house all day. You got up, you got dressed, and you walked."

skyscape image of Manhattan, New York City, with an orange and teal overlay

The Music of Home: At 100, Ms. A.S. reflects on family, community, and six decades of making music in churches.

Image of a church organ, with an orange and teal overlay

103-year-old Mr. B. reflects on a lifetime of hard work, family, and home—from growing up on a Virginia farm during the Depression to becoming “Big G” to generations of grandchildren.

Summers in Yemassee: Ms. F. fondly recalls childhood summers in Yemassee, South Carolina, and a life grounded in family, connection, and respect.

A forested road in Yemassee, South Carolina

At 99, Ms. R. thinks "life is just wonderful". She is still caring for others, staying active, and getting up to dance whenever the music starts—a lifelong rhythm she sums up simply: “Just keep moving.”

close up of 50s style womens dancing shoes

I Keep Me Going: At 104, Ms. Maria reflects on a life spanning the Dominican Republic and Virginia, the family who surrounds her, and the bingo, word searches, and determination that keep her mind active and herself going.

They Still Talk About Her Chocolate Silk Pie. Ms. G. reflects on family, marriage, wartime life, and the meals she made for those she loved, from fried chicken and Toll House cookies to the chocolate silk pie people still remember.

A Place You Can Be Yourself: Ms. Thomas-Rice fondly recalls climbing trees and shooting marbles with her brothers, two happy marriages, and a life of “keep on going”—reflecting on home as a place where you can feel safe, warm, and be yourself.

All 'Us Used To Be Together: Ms. M. reflects on family, a happy life on the farm, and growing up with 14 siblings who worked together. As some memories have faded, what remains is a strong sense of togetherness, helping her children, and having “done the best I could.”

Home, That's the Center of My World: Mr. W. recalls a life-changing move to New York with his wife and reflects on the relationships that make a house a home.

A Place Where My Family Was: At 102, Ms. F. reflects on growing up with her family in the Bronx and why home “means everything to me.”

Home on the Farm: Ms. M. recalls growing up on a 30-acre Bon Air farm and a life shaped by hard work, independence, family, and adaptation.

We invite you to check back here as new narrators will continue to be added, plus additional audio links and transcripts. Questions? Contact Catherine at macdonaldcs@vcu.edu.