All There Is

Mar 05, 2012 Evan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I should have known better after listening to "Listening is an Act of Love" on audiobook that this one would move me to tears on the highway as well! What a great collection of StoryCorps stories highlighting the lows and heights of love, both current and lost. Highly recommended.

And I apologize to everyone else heading eastbound on I-70 heading toward Zanesville two weeks ago!

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May 29, 2012 Doug Bradshaw rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'll remind you that two stars means that "it was OK." There is something a little bit interesting about each of the stories in this little book: how a couple met, how one of the partners died (in one episode she is at home talking to him while he is on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center knowing he is going to die), etc. But in general, it was just a tad better than reading the obituaries on Sunday. I do like what Storycorps is doing and I think it has a place. But it wasn't like reading...more

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Mar 17, 2013 CuriousLibrarian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

This is a 3.5 from me.

Read this in just a few days. That was probably mistake. I suspect that the best way to read this book is to take it slower and only read 2-3 interviews at a go. Otherwise I think the stories become less memorable.

But, of course, I find oral histories too compelling to stop reading. And I think that is my issue with this book (and probably the others put out from Storycorps). Since these interviews can be 40 minutes long, I want to see more of them - not just the snippets...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Agatha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A quick read I spotted off the “New Non-Fiction” shelf at the library yesterday. Individuals basically go into this room and record a story of important to them and their personal or familiar history: how they met their spouse, what their mother was like, etc. And it’s all recorded as part of a big oral history project that will go in the Library of Congress. Pretty neato idea. Many of these are very, very moving, but the last story referenced below (please see last sentence below) absolutely bl...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Ileana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked the book but I was not ready to cry so much with the sad love stories.

Elliot: What did you think about marrying me so many years ago? Did you think it would turn out this many years?
Hunny: I never thought anybody lasts this many years! To me divorce was not a foreign word, because if you remember, Elliot, my mother was a divorced woman when she was in her thirties. But I was sure you were the right one. And you know what? I was right. You *are* the right one for me.
I like the way you kis...more I liked the book but I was not ready to cry so much with the sad love stories.

Elliot: What did you think about marrying me so many years ago? Did you think it would turn out this many years?
Hunny: I never thought anybody lasts this many years! To me divorce was not a foreign word, because if you remember, Elliot, my mother was a divorced woman when she was in her thirties. But I was sure you were the right one. And you know what? I was right. You *are* the right one for me.
I like the way you kiss. You bowled me over sixty-something odd years ago with your way of kissing, and the way you hold me when we dance. You're not a fantastic dancer, but you hold me fantastically, and I feel it. It's genuine. (p. 34)

Granvilette Kestenbaum: People talk about closure. There is no closure when you lose a loved one . I don't care how you lost them, your heart is always open. Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote something that affected me. It says, "Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling into at night. I miss you like hell." (p. 95)

Beverly Eckert (he was trapped in the South Tower on 9/11): He told me he was on the 105th floor, and I knew right away that Sean was never coming home.
He was very calm. He was very focused. He told me he had been trying to find a way out and what he wanted was information. So I relayed to him what I could see on TV, what floor the flames had reached and on what side of the building.... There was a building in flames underneath him, but Sean didn't even flinch. He stayed composed, talking to me, just talking to me the way he always did. I will always be in awe of the way he faced death. Not an ounce of fear: not when the windows around him were getting too hot to touch; not when the smoke was making it hard to breathe. He will always be a hero to me because of that.
By now we had stopped talking about escape routes. I wanted to use the precious few minutes we had left just to talk. I knew it was time to say good-bye. He told me to give his love to his family, and then we just began talking about all the happiness we shared during our lives together, how lucky we were to have each other. I told him that I wanted to be there with him and die with him, but he said no. He wanted me to live a full life. At one point, when I could tell it was getting harder for him to breathe, I asked him if it hurt. He paused for a moment, and then said, "No." Ho loved me enough to lie.
In the end, as the smoke got thicker, he just kept whispering, "I love you," over and over. I was pressing the phone to my ear as hard as I could. I wanted to crawl through the phone lines to him to hold him one last time. Then I suddenly heard this loud explosion through the phone. It reverberated for several seconds. We both held our breath; I know we both realized what was about to happen. Then I heard a sharp crack, followed by the sound of an avalanche. I twas the building beginning to collapse. I heard Sean gasp once the floor fell out from underneath him....
My last memory that I have of Sean isn't about pain or fear, but it's about bravery and selflessness and, most of all, about love. (p. 97-99)

Hilda: It's funny, because when I met you I was totally sure that love did not exist. But there you were, with this exquisite sensibility and sensitivity. You came over with this calm attitude, very gentle, very sweet, and I felt like you could sense what I had gone through. (p. 104)

Martha: You were so calm. You knew what to do. You took care of me, and you weren't going to abandon me. I trusted you with my life.... I had seen you when the chips were down. When there's a terrible tragedy, you know what kind of person someone is. (p. 146-147)(less)

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May 01, 2012 Kipahni rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, icky-love-stuff, life-is-heavenish, marital-bliss, publiclibrarybooks

My favorite part of When Harry met Sally (besides THE CAFE scene) is when there are the couples sitting on the couch telling their "how we met" stories.

This book of such stories. Heartbreaking, beautiful, honest and romantic. A perfect little book.

One of my favorite questions to ask people besides 'what is your passion' is how did you meet your love? You can tell a lot about a couple by how they recall their love story. Some people give very short factual "we met in highschool and got married 3...more

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Feb 19, 2012 Kathleen (Kat) Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-literature, non-fiction, personal-memoir

Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 40,000 interviews from more than 70,000 participants, each week airing one of NPR's Morning Edition. Love is perhaps StoryCorp's greatest theme, present in almost every interview and All There Is focuses on romantic love, collecting stories from around the country into three broad categories: Love Found, Love Lost, and Love Found At Last.

The touching personal narratives cover the widest range of couples - lifelong partners and newlyweds...more
Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 40,000 interviews from more than 70,000 participants, each week airing one of NPR's Morning Edition. Love is perhaps StoryCorp's greatest theme, present in almost every interview and All There Is focuses on romantic love, collecting stories from around the country into three broad categories: Love Found, Love Lost, and Love Found At Last.

The touching personal narratives cover the widest range of couples - lifelong partners and newlyweds, long-distance relationships forged by e-mails and letters, and love stories that reach across wars, illness, and even death. Here are some of the stories you will find within the covers of All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps by Dave Isay:

Michael Fazio and Sonya Baker in Murray, Kentucky. Michael was a toll collector when he caught Sonya's eye during her regular commute. One day she asked Michael out to dinner, and they've traveled through life together ever since.

Leroy Morgan remembers his late wife, Vivian and they time they read a sign that said Successful Marrige that neither would ever forget that would contain six points to always to say to your wife or husband. Their marriage lasted fifty-three years, two months and five days and if he's able to enter into the pearly gates of heaven, Leroy will walk all over God's heaven until he finds Vivian. The first thing he plans on doing is asking her to marry him all over again.

My all time favorite was a story from Beverly Eckert, 55 who remembers her husband Sean Rooney and that last phone call she shared with him as he remained in the South Tower on the morning of September 11th, trapped on the 105th floor and tried in vain to escape but was not able. It would be a phone call she would never forget and also her life would be claimed as well in a plane crash in 2009.

If you are a romantic at heart or simply love great love stories that show love can outlast even death, then this is simply the collection of stories for you. I received this book compliments of TLC Book Tours for my honest review and fell in love over and over again. There were stories simply too good that once I finished them, I had to read them out loud to my husband. Those were the "Ah moments in our day." I can't recommend this book enough as a great collection for hopeful romantics, and a great anniversary or wedding gift. With that I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.(less)

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Feb 15, 2012 Tamara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: being-human, non-fiction

You know how most people, when you ask them to tell you something interesting about themselves, they say, "Oh, I don't know. I'm pretty boring, I guess." Well, it's true, in the way that the human experience is oftentimes ordinary and predictable and a bit the same for everyone.

But then, when they break down and start to tell you their stories, it's just comforting, how similar they are to your own, and yet how all of the details are different and how those details make you you and them them.

Th...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Chelsea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013

First I have to say I think the StoryCorps is one of the most amazing projects. As a child living outside Boston my Dad would frequently take my sisters and I to the cemeteries many of which had graves older than 200 years old and we would make up stories about who these people were and what they might have experienced in life. As we moved around and traveled I remember thinking to myself as we passed different houses in different cities, "there are people that live there that have a story, I wo...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Paige rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Paige by: library's new books shelf

This book seemed to have a great premise, but it fell short for me. I think that if I had heard the audio or seen a video of these people telling their stories, it would have been much more impactful. So much of the meaning of words--ESPECIALLY where emotions are concerned--comes from the facial expressions and the tone of voice. These stories aren't really "stories" in the novel sense, where you get the inside scoop on the person's expression, inner thoughts & feelings, motivations, etc--th...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Chivon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a very easy read, I read it in one day because they are short stories and the stories are so interesting. Then at the end of the story you get to see a photo of who the story was about. This is the third book in the series and I have read all three. I think storycorps is such an amazing idea to preserve the history of average everyday people. It is a little van with a recording studio inside that travels around and people can make appointments to sit inside with someone and interview or...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an outstanding book of testimonies on love and all its forms. Rarely do I read a book straight through in one night, but I couldn't put this one down! StoryCorps set up booths all over the country and recorded 40-minute conversations between people - friends, family, lovers - to record anything they wanted to say to each other, whether it's interview questions, the telling of a story or the professing of love to one another. "Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 40...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Julie (julie37619) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been on a streak of really great books lately - and this is definitely one of them. It's a collection of StoryCorps stories relating to love in three parts: love found, love lost, and love regained. If you aren't familiar with StoryCorps, it's a nationwide movement to record the stories of everyday people. If StoryCorps is in your town, you make an appointment and bring someone with you and ask them to tell you their story. The stories are recorded and you get a copy and a copy goes to Stor...more I've been on a streak of really great books lately - and this is definitely one of them. It's a collection of StoryCorps stories relating to love in three parts: love found, love lost, and love regained. If you aren't familiar with StoryCorps, it's a nationwide movement to record the stories of everyday people. If StoryCorps is in your town, you make an appointment and bring someone with you and ask them to tell you their story. The stories are recorded and you get a copy and a copy goes to StoryCorps. These stories were all collected as a part of the program and relate to love.

Writing
StoryCorps did a great job with the transcripts of these conversations. They are "written" because they're transcribed from verbal interviews, but the editing StoryCorps and Dave Isay have done is amazing. While they are appropriate for the written word and read well (StoryCorps has removed the "um"s and "so"s and those kind of fillers), they also retain that oral-tradition feel. You can really tell that you're reading a story that was told out loud, which is exactly what StoryCorps wants.

Entertainment Value
This is one of the happiest books I've read in a long time. Even the stories in the "Lost" section are beautiful in an uplifting way. The teller may have lost his or her love but the story celebrates the time they had together. I cannot begin to say how sweet the stories are. Some are truly amazing - like a couple who had the same initials and met when one got an email intended for the other. Even though they lived on opposite sides of the world, a correspondence began that led them to love. And that's just one story. It's not a terribly long book, and it's great for reading a little at a time, especially if you need a small pick me up fix.

Overall
You must read this book. It's for everyone - there's no one who I wouldn't recommend it to. It's an easy read and the subject matter is all uplifting. It's not just a light, fluff book though, there are some very deep messages to be gleaned from the stories. I also must point out the cover. You can't see it very well in this picture, but it is adorable. They look like polka dots on the pictures, but those colorful objects are actually little tiny embossed hearts. I've got this one prominently displayed on my shelves because it's just so cute.

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Feb 12, 2012 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: age-adult-books, audio-recommended, gift-books

This is, as expected, just wonderful: emotional and genuine. I can't wait to listen to the audio as well. As the introduction says, "Many people think of their interview sessions as: If I had only forty minutes left with this person, what would I want to ask?"

I knew I was going to get sniffly when I read the titles of the three sections: Found (falling in love); Lost (remembering a loved one); and Found at Last (finding love unexpectedly after assuming it was no longer in the cards). I especiall...more This is, as expected, just wonderful: emotional and genuine. I can't wait to listen to the audio as well. As the introduction says, "Many people think of their interview sessions as: If I had only forty minutes left with this person, what would I want to ask?"

I knew I was going to get sniffly when I read the titles of the three sections: Found (falling in love); Lost (remembering a loved one); and Found at Last (finding love unexpectedly after assuming it was no longer in the cards). I especially enjoyed Found, when both parties would tell the story of their meeting. It's such a joy to hear people tell their "origin stories" in tandem.

Favorite quotes:

"...we yell at each other. But when push comes to shove, we let it go, and we're back to our normal selves, because being unhappy is part of being happy. ...When two people get married, they say two people become one. No, I don't agree. Two people should remain two people but walk side by side."

"Howard wanted to share what was happening in the skies with me, and it was always happening in the dead of winter. We would go outside at about three in the morning in the freezing cold, waiting for some phenomena. After the third time I learned to say, 'Yes, I see it! It is wonderful!' and we got to go inside much quicker, and we stayed married."

"Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote something that affected me. It says, 'Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling into at night. I miss you like hell.'"

"You came over with this calm attitude, very gentle, very sweet, and I felt like you could sense what I had gone through. Still, I thought to myself, this man is bald! I had always said I could never, never be with a bald guy. And there you were, becoming the most handsome man on earth."

"I'd always been chasing after men who I thought were what I wanted to be, or a more dynamic version of myself, and I would sort of graft off of their dynamism."

"You gave my life an anchor, and I'd like to think I've given your life wings."

"I think I'm a better person from everything that I've gone through with our breakup. I know the depths that I can go to and still come out, and I think that's a really great gift."(less)

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May 02, 2013 Nicole Ayers rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First, I must admit, I always got excited when a story corps interview was aired on NPR, so my review is likely biased.

Second, my one wish is that the excerpts were just a bit longer! I wanted to know more about these people.

Third, it was a quick read, which was a nice change of pace from my recent book choices.

Forth, what I loved about it: Reading actual, real life love stories was perfect for me at this point in my life. As I prepare for marriage, it seems as if the whole world is cynical ab...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Jan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love StoryCorps, and I loved this book. I read an excerpt in a Reader's Digest I picked up somewhere and had to check it out. In fact, the excerpt alone stayed with me so much that I went to the downtown library to get the book even though I had reserved it and it was already in transit to my neighborhood library. Dave Isay does a great job editing the stories and including a wide variety. It made me realize how everyone is perfect for someone. The stories about the people who lost someone on...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Laura Lynch rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Storycorps is an organization that gives people from all backgrounds the opportunity to record and share their stories. The tapes are preserved as part of the archives at the Library of Congress. "All There Is" is a small part of Storycorps’s vast collection.

The short transcripts are stories of love from a diverse range of people. Many were the tales of how a couple first meet. Each chapter was touching and some brought tears to my eyes. In particular, one account of a women who was on the phone...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love the concept of this book! It's a company that sets up shop and ordinary people go into a booth where with another person and a moderator. They interview one another or just tell their story. A prompt might be: If you have only 45 minutes to live, what legacy would you leave? They tell their stories of love, loss, heartbreak, and happiness. The stories run the gamut of love; from young marriages, to people in their 90's, those who survived WWII, gay couples, those who lost loved ones durin...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Brittany rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

Stories from Story Corps kept popping up in my Facebook feed, so I decided to give this book, collected stories from the project, a try. I'm really glad it did.

Each story is very short. Each is the result of a 40 minute interview between two people. Story Corps is an oral history project, and this book focuses on romantic love. The book is broken down into three sections: "Found," "Lost," and "Found Again."

The stories are wonderful, interesting, and sweet. They profile the people, but also pa...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: permanent-collection

A very touching collection of love stories from NPR's StoryCorps. The book features stories on love found, lost, and found later in life, when all hope of love had been given up. The "lost" section is particularly poignant as people share their memories of loved ones who have passed on. I couldn't keep myself from crying while reading the account of one woman who spoke to her husband on the phone as he was trapped in the south tower on 9/11. But not all of the stories are tearjerkers. The final...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

I love Storycorps. I think they are recording oral history in a way that is more personal and more intriguing than ever before. I have found myself hearing little clips of their interviews on my way to work and sobbing in the car. They are amazing.

This book is the print form of their little interview clips that get played on the radio. Each story is about 2 or 3 pages long, accompanied by a photo of the people telling their stories. Some are hilarious, some are really sad and all of them boil t...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Scott Rankin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lovely quick sketches. You can read this book in just a few hours. A few of the stories will definitely make you cry. Some of them get a little repetitive: oh, it was love at first site. oh, I knew I was going to marry this girl. It's hard to say anything bad about people's love stories. Still, this book is perfect to read one story at a time as a little mindful meditation. To it's credit the book is wonderfully diverse with plenty of African Americans represented, a few gay couples, and diversi...more

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May 07, 2012 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I actually really liked this book but gave it three stars because it isn't the kind of book where I'd say to you, "Have you read 'All There Is?' No? Oh, you HAVE to read it!" The great thing about these love stories is that they are the stories of regular people. One of my favorite parts was seeing the photo of the couple when I reached the end of their story. I'd be like, "Wait. That's the 'tall, stunning blond?'" It was lovely to see that most of the people weren't gorgeous models but they saw...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Liz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's been a while since a book moved me to tears, but so many of these stories left me so completely touched that I'm afraid I can't say that anymore. The stories were just so honest, and to have the chance to read them was such a beautiful, intimate, and tender experience. In the foreword it was mentioned that often the most poignant moments in the written stories differ from the most poignant moments of the recorded interview. I am still waiting for the audio book to come in from the library,...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I got to make a StoryCorps recording with my sister and her husband, I wondered what might happen to the stories. It must have been a gargantuan task for staff to edit and pick through stories to compile the ones collected in this book. It is a fast and pleasant read. And mostly I came away with a sense that the kind of romantic love this book drives at is one where as time has gone by, the two partners still see each other as when they first fell in love. Even at eighty, they still see eac...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Danielle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, for-review

Love is all around us. It’s in the way we treat each other as human beings to the relationships that grow over time. In these short stories of love discovered, lost and found people from all over the United States share their varying experiences that at their core speak to the romantic within each of us. From stories of love found at a time of war to the heartbreaking loss of a husband as the building he works in collapses around him each of their stories show humanity at it’s finest and give ho...more Love is all around us. It’s in the way we treat each other as human beings to the relationships that grow over time. In these short stories of love discovered, lost and found people from all over the United States share their varying experiences that at their core speak to the romantic within each of us. From stories of love found at a time of war to the heartbreaking loss of a husband as the building he works in collapses around him each of their stories show humanity at it’s finest and give hope to readers everywhere.

Wow. It’s books like this that leave me with the realization I’m an absolute hopeless romantic. This is the reason I think readers here at Chick Lit Reviews and News will love this book. What could be better than honest to goodness true love stories that have happened to real people? This was a book that had me hoping for the very best, laughing at times and on at least one occasion crying uncontrollably. Not all of the stories end in a happily ever after and some even openly admit they wish things were different, but even in a mere two or three pages each couple has an incredible journey to share and I loved them all.

All There Is: Love Stories from Storycorps by David Isay is a book based on the shared stories of numerous couples from around the US who visited a StoryCorps location to record their journey. It’s such a unique concept and it’s actually the first time I’d heard about it. Two people can go to a StoryCorps location and record an “interview” that will then be given to them as well as put in the records at the Library of Congress for future generations to listen to and learn from. In All There Is: Love Stories from Storycorps the stories about the relationships & love that have been shared over time were compiled into the book, separated into three categories: Found, Lost and Found at Last. It’s such a brilliant idea and one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about.

Overall I’d say that the most enjoyable parts of All There Is: Love Stories from Storycorps for me were the first and second sections. In the first section “Found” each of the couples share how they found and fell in love with the other. Sometimes their stories are absolutely hilarious, one even admitted that she thought her husband was a bit mentally slow initially because he never spoke and just stared at her (turns out he didn’t speak English very well). They aren’t all hilarious though and a few were so wonderfully romantic that it had me thinking about how I could incorporate some of their long lasting marriage advice into my own marriage. The second section in the book was all about losing love, primarily through death. Obviously this was a very melancholy section, but at the same time many of the stories were incredibly hopeful and of course filled with love. As I mentioned earlier one of the stories had me sobbing uncontrollably by the end, but the couple’s story was so moving and I couldn’t help but think I need to remember to value my loved ones even more because of their shared experiences.

All There Is: Love Stories from Storycorps by David Isay is without a doubt one of the most romantic books I’ve ever read. With the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday coming I’d highly recommend this as a gift to someone you love or even simply as a treat for yourself. This is definitely a book I could easily see readers of Chick Lit Reviews and News loving. All There Is: Love Stories from Storycorps is a book filled with love, hope, heartbreak and passion. Being the hopeless romantic that I am I fell completely in love with the stories shared by each and every couple in All There Is: Love Stories from Storycorps and I know that other readers will as well!

Originally reviewed and copyrighted at my site Chick Lit Reviews and News.(less)

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Mar 24, 2012 Meredith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, nonfiction, romance, short-stories

Originally published on The Librarian Next Door:

Almost all of the interviews we collect touch on the great themes of human existence, and – as we’ve learned after recording thousands upon thousands of sessions – there can be no question that the greatest of these themes is love.

So begins a wonderful collection of original stories from the folks behind Storycorps. All There Is: Love Stories from Storycorps is a book of interviews compiled into one long narrative about the enduring power of love a...more
Originally published on The Librarian Next Door:

Almost all of the interviews we collect touch on the great themes of human existence, and – as we’ve learned after recording thousands upon thousands of sessions – there can be no question that the greatest of these themes is love.

So begins a wonderful collection of original stories from the folks behind Storycorps. All There Is: Love Stories from Storycorps is a book of interviews compiled into one long narrative about the enduring power of love and the way love touches us all, in so many different ways. Edited by David Isay, these interviews were recorded as part of the Storycorps project and then collected for this book.

For those of you who may not know, Storycorps is a national nonprofit project with a deceptively simple premise: every story, every voice matters. Founded in 2003, Storycorps gives Americans of all ages, races, backgrounds and beliefs the chance to record their own story for future generations. Each participant gets to keep a copy of his or her story and another copy is archived in the Library of Congress, so that future Americans can look back and hear, in their own words and own voices, the stories of Americans just like them.

All There Is is a collection of some of the greatest Storycorps recordings about love. The book is divided into three sections: love found, love lost, and love found at last. Isay and the other Storycorps editors have done minimal editing; each selection retains the individual voices of the people telling it. I think there is a unique kind of power to telling your own story in your own words; these love stories feel so much more real because I’m reading them as they come from the individuals themselves. There’s no second or third-hand party to confuse things. Reading this book felt like chatting with a close friend again and again.

And, like all good books, All There Is is filled with original and honest stories that stir up a range of emotions. Sometimes I smiled, sometimes I got choked-up and teary-eyed and sometimes, I laughed through a few tears. There’s such an incredible and diverse range of stories that it’s nearly impossible to choose a favorite.

I did really appreciate the stories from the older generations, partly because they reminded me of my own grandparents’ love stories and partly because there was clearly so much wisdom in their experiences. There were also stories that were difficult to read, especially those within the “Love Lost” section (including a couple of heartbreaking stories revolving around September 11th), but those were also some of the most important stories as well.

There’s some sadness in All There Is, but there’s also a lot of hope and joy. I’d love to read more anthologies of Storycorps stories, because the whole point of the project is to preserve these tales for others to hear. A heartwarming and enjoyable collection, All There Is will make you believe in love – real, actual love told by the people who know best.(less)

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Mar 19, 2012 Shuriu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Elliot: What did you think about marrying me so many years ago? Did you think it would turn out this many years?
Hunny: I never thought anybody lasts this many years! To me divorce was not a foreign word, because if you remember, Elliot, my mother was a divorced woman when she was in her thirties. But I was sure you were the right one. And you know what? I was right. You *are* the right one for me.
I like the way you kiss. You bowled me over sixty-something odd years ago with your way of kissing,...more

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May 07, 2012 Ellie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found this book to very uneven. I LOVE the NPR series "Story Corps," especially when listening to the audio segments, and sometimes get choked up reading the stories as well. One of the chapters was on the NPR website at Valentines Day, and next thing you know I was at my local bookstore buying a copy of the book. Several of the stories met my expectations; the good ones were really good, but there were several 'yawners' among the collection too. One happy surprise was turning the page to the...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub

I cannot give this book 5 stars because that would mean I didn't read it in an hour and end up with tears and snot all over my face - and Megan Richardson's desk. It would have meant that the book left me feeling great and wanting to read it again and recommend it to anyone and that i cannot do.
I did give it 4 stars because it is perfect, because StoryCorps is a brilliant program.
I gave it 4 stars because some people shouldn't read this because it is a collection of 3-4 page stories that jab you...more

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title link	preview: All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps
avg rating	preview: All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps Goodreads rating: 3.99 (1001 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13389896-all-there-is?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1325892817l/13389896.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13389896-all-there-is?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps by Dave Isay[/url]

All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps

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