life rattle show no. 1337

Presented on friday, april 3, 2015

hosted by Virginia Ashberry

featuring

"Barbara"
and
"Timothy"
by Jillian McKelvey

tonight's Show

Life Rattle No. 1337 features two classic stories from Life Rattle writer, Jillian McKelvey.

Jillian McKelvey was born the youngest of three daughters in Winnipeg in 1952. She grew up in Winnipeg then moved with her family to Vancouver when she was a teenager, before returning to Winnipeg to attend university. She married at twenty-three, and two years later moved with her husband from Winnipeg to Mississauga just three weeks after adopting their son. We are going to hear about those events in one of McKelvey’s stories tonight. In 2003, Jill McKelvey returned to school after more than twenty years away, to complete her B.A. She currently lives in Mississauga.

Jill McKelvey has written a series of stories about her family’s experience of adoption. We’re going to listen to the opening two stories from a series of five. A couple fight their way through the adoption process, are finally accepted, are given a baby boy, and then move across the country three weeks later.

McKelvey’s writing makes the experience of adoption accessible to those who have only looked on. She uses short vignettes to help us understand the breath holding, damp tissue squeezing, tongue biting, and steadfast commitment of purpose that a couple must bring to the process. All this to satisfy a desire to love a little person they have never met.

Please Note: Tonight's story contains language and situations that some listeners may find offensive. Listener discretion is advised.