Collection of 50 true short stories
A couple of years ago, I was juggling (arguably) too many book clubs. Membership of one particular book club was made up of colleagues, and when one particular meeting fell around Indigenous Literacy Day, I thought it would be a good idea to run a bit of a Great Book Swap. The idea is pretty straightforward: bring books and gold coins, and for every gold coin you pay, you get a book and the coins go to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. I ended up picking this book, but unfortunately the attendee who “donated” it didn’t realise that it was a permanent donation. I agreed to return it once I’d finished it, but unfortunately it fell a bit by the wayside. After introducing a new “system” where all my unread books are in a stack looming threateningly over me, I managed to finally get to it.
“The Moth: This is a True Story” edited by Catherine Burns is a collection of 50 true short stories adapted from spoken word performances. I hadn’t heard of The Moth prior to reading this book. Essentially, The Moth is a particular type of live event where storytellers with a really good story about something true from their own lives tell it to a live audience. The stories are loosely arranged by theme and range in topic from travel, medicine, parentage, medicine and just about everything in between.
Needless to say, there are some very compelling stories in this collection. I think my favourite, and the one that stayed with me the most, was A View of the Earth by astronaut Michael Massimino. I also really enjoyed Mission to India by infectious disease specialist Dr George Lombardi, Notes on an Exorcism by Andrew Solomon about a particular experience with depression, and LOL by delightfully well-meaning father Adam Gopnik. Some were heartbreaking, like Bicycle Safety on Essex by journalist Richard Price who witnesses racism in action and Angel by Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels who finds out the truth of his identity. Still others were downright illuminating like Impeachment Day by Joe Lockhart, Elevator ER by Jon Levin and The Prince and I by Jillian Lauren.
I think like every collection of stories, there are always going to be some that speak to you more than others. While most were pretty enjoyable, interesting or illuminating there were a couple that irked me. One in particular was by a man who trained monkeys in a laboratory, and just about every single part of the premise of his story I disagreed with.
A fascinating and diverse collection of stories made all the more engaging because they are all true.
Tinted Edges 
This has reminded me of the joys of short story collections, like opening an eclectic treasure box, at its best.
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What a lovely way to put it! I understand a lot of the stories are available to view/listen to online as well if you wanted a sample
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Haha, Angharad. You are clearly not a retired person sitting around listening to Radio National during the day! I heard of The Moth a few years ago when RN started playing these little spoken word pieces. I love them, but wasn’t aware that this book had been published. It would be interesting to read, to see how the written versions compare with the spoken word ones which have the benefit of all the expression and audience reaction you get in the live performance. Most of the stories are strong enough though, I’d say, to translate well – but, as you say, some will always appeal more than others depending on our own interests and values.
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Haha sadly not yet! My parents love Radio National though!
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Not surprised… We 50s and 60s are the demographic
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