She Speaks | A Let Her Speak Podcast
She Speaks | A Let Her Speak Podcast
My Legacy in Progress with Abby Hassler
We're doing things a little differently in this episode. Abby Hassler is a graduate of the aspiring leader cohort of the Let Her Lead program and a brilliant storyteller. One goal that Abby set for herself coming out of the program was to start her own podcast where she shares the stories of people in the community who are overlooked and forgotten.
As a way to help her make that dream a reality, we invited Abby to use her podcast episode as an opportunity to share her story, her way. You will hear first her legacy statement about the impact she sees storytelling can have on the world followed by the story of one of her neighbors she interviewed.
Tune in to this incredible episode with Abby.
... And remember, we are all legacies in progress.
About Season 2 of the She Speaks Podcast:
Throughout Season 2 we will be featuring the graduates and mentors/coaches in our first cohort of the Let Her Lead program. Each woman you will hear from throughout this season embarked on a 12-week journey in late 2023 to gain new skills and insights to become the leader SHE wants to be.
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Thank You to:
Our sponsor partners: Schaad Companies & Knoxville Entrepreneur Center
Our producer & theme music composer: Travis Tench of Oak Hill Audio
Our brand designer: Maranda Vandergriff of Vagabondary
Our photographers: Javon Renee Portraits, Smoke Signal Photography, Ashley Gurley Photography, and Kara Hudgens Photography
Have any questions, comments, or want to connect more with the Let Her Speak community? Contact us at hello@letherspeakusa.org
You're listening to She Speaks, a Let Her Speak podcast that celebrates women's fearlessness, resiliency, and readiness to change the world. [music] Welcome.
We're doing things a little differently today. As you might be able to tell, I'm not Catherine. My name is Abby Hassler, and I'm a cohort member of the Let Her Lead program in the aspiring leader track.
I spent the last few months learning about how to be a better leader in my community and working on my legacy statement that I'm going to read for you in just a moment. Catherine has also been generous enough to let me take over the mic and share about a little creative project that I'm working on.
I hope you enjoy. I want to tell you about Lester. When we met,
he was a man in his mid -70s living in a building behind my college campus. He grew up on a farm in Mechs County, Tennessee, and spent his career as an educator. He loved salmon cakes and his two daughters,
one of whom died tragically a few years before. He had a soothing, deep voice and absolutely loved hearing himself talk. He had been suffering from a debilitating illness for several years and wanted to write his life story.
He hired one of my friends to help him. So I tagged along. Over the next two years, I spent many afternoons listening to Lester's stories and arguing with Lester.
him about immigration reform and his somewhat questionable political opinions. We would trim his beard, make him dinner, and one time we celebrated his birthday with a movie in "Sparkling Cider." He passed away a couple years after we first met,
but I frequently think about him and our time together. Lester made me think about what legacy means. In his book, "Sedication." dedication to his family, he wrote, "My life has not been sensational,
"not even notorious. "There have been events and circumstances "that some would consider interesting, "perhaps even strange. "Mostly, I can give you a sense "of what it was like to live in my time." One of the lies we're told in the movies we watch or the books we read is that a legacy has to be something big,
something wonderful. something world -changing. Now, I haven't written a best -selling novel. I'm absolutely not going to become president. I haven't gone viral on TikTok or cured cancer.
People don't recognize me on the street, but I, like all of you listening now, have a story we're sharing. We're all legacies in progress.
My legacy journey began not too far away from Knoxville. I was a shy curious kid who loved reading traveling and wanted to be a writer some day Does anyone remember Samantha Brown from the travel channel?
That's who I wanted to be Fast forward a few years, and I'm not Samantha Brown yet But I am proud to be a creative director where I tell stories client stories every day.
A few years ago, I got my master's degree in rhetoric writing and linguistics, which made me fall in love with research and become a better writer. I've been a volunteer English teacher for adults at a local nonprofit for the past seven years,
teaching hundreds of students from Central and South America. I married someone who taught me to be more patient and to not be afraid to make a a ruse. I'm lucky to have visited nearly every state and two dozen countries.
I make a pretty great lasagna and have completed most of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. My Spotify is full of an embarrassing amount of sad girl music and I love nothing more than curling up with a good book.
All I know is that I got to where I am today because of a supportive family. hard work, a lot of luck, and good timing. As Lester wrote in his book,
"My mistakes and successes cannot alone be the whole story. Every ancestor who delivered your genes, every person you've ever known, every morsel you've ingested into your body,
every experience you've had is a part of you." I believe in the transformational power of stories, curiosity, and connection.
Through teaching English, students have told me how challenging it is living in a community that belittles you for your accent or your language proficiency. Each trip I take makes me realize how massive the world is and how much more I have to learn.
At work, I get excited about researchers who study hibiscus varieties and invent new technologies to clean up our environment. My partner's work at a local syringe exchange has challenged my preconceptions of drug use and how detrimental the war on drugs has been.
When I think about my legacy, I return to Lester and the importance of giving people a voice. In the next few months,
I want to launch a podcast to share intimate everyday stories of people in our community. I want each episode to feel like you're sitting across from someone with a cup of tea or having a conversation with a stranger.
I want to give the mic to people to share what brings them the most joy, lessons they've learned, and the challenges they have overcome. I want to explore identity and how power shapes,
hurts, and empowers us in different ways. I want to tell stories about how we're all legacies in progress. I want to leave you with a final quote from Lester's autobiography.
"Everyone who has ever lived to maturity has a story to tell. Few get published and read by the masses, but it's a show. shame that everyone's story isn't available to at least their descendants.
I've been thinking about legacy a lot lately. What do I want to be known for now and in the years to come? What fills me with purpose? Right now,
I want to be known as a storytelling vessel for others. I want to lift others up by inviting them to share what brings them the most joy, challenges they've faced,
and lessons they might want to give to the rest of us. But, and I'm going to be really honest here, the problem is I've had trouble figuring out where to even begin.
I produce a podcast at my day job and have been a professional marketing writer for over a decade. So it seems that's starting a side project would be in my wheelhouse.
But when it comes to things that are deeply personal, are part of my own creative journey, I'm a lot harder on myself. I keep making excuses and convincing myself that no one wants to hear what I have to say.
But I've realized that I'm letting fear keep me from the one thing I truly want to do. Can anybody relate? This is why I'm grateful to be part of the Let Her Lead program.
It's given me the space to talk about and explore my desire to launch a podcast to share everyday intimate stories of people in my community. I'm so thankful to be part of the strong group of women dedicated to becoming better leaders and members of our community.
But, even with this support, I'm grateful to be part of the Let Her Lead I still have to make the first step, and that's really scary. So, like the good,
curious introvert I am, I decided to start this process a little closer to home, essentially in my backyard. I live near a 7 -story apartment complex for older individuals and those living with disabilities.
On any sunny day, my neighborhood comes alive. with residents zooming by in electric wheelchairs, walking tiny dogs, or setting up shop at multiple shade spots. There's always laughter,
fighting, and a lot of cigarette smoke. And I absolutely love living in this beautiful microcosm of different personalities and ways of looking at the world. Over the years,
I've gotten to know some of my neighbors one of whom I will call Billy because he could cosplay as Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top with his long, great beard, fingerless gloves,
and American flag bandana. He has an angry little dog named Sweetie that barks at anything and everything, including me. Billy parks his wheelchair in front of my house each morning,
blasting his favorite bluegrass gospel songs and singing along. Walking to my car for work, he always pauses his music and comes over to remind me that I look lovelier than ever.
It's a fun part of my morning routine that I didn't know I needed before. A few months ago, I didn't see Billy for several weeks. Later, I found that he had a really serious case of COVID and barely got out of bed.
He's doing better now, but this experience made me realize how much I didn't know about Billy and the others living closest to me. Sure, I chat with people when I walk my dog,
or wave when I drive by, but I don't take the time to be as neighborly as I should be, and I want to change that. So my first journey to give the mic to people in Knoxville,
I want you all to tag along. In just a moment, you'll hear from Billy and learn his real name. If you want to hear more from him and other stories like this,
follow me on social media. My name is Donnie. I've been called easy back when I was a hippie.
And then when I got into motorcycles, it was sleazy easy. and then when I come to my senses it went back to Donnie and now that's just what it is right there Donnie I'm an old guy pushing 70 to start with I got an old dog she's going on 11 and the neighborhood we live in in is one of the better neighborhoods that I've ever lived in.
I like where I live because before this I lived under the bridge and the Salvation Army and the mission. When my wife died I felt the pieces and I like this because when I got sober it came here and there's crazy stuff all around where we live.
now, but there's also a lot of good stuff. The people that I know, a lot of them think I'm a lunatic because I've been saved,
I've been forgiven, and I'm chief among the sinners. It was sleazy easy, okay? That's all I've been saying. dawning for I don't know three or four years now And I've not always been this way,
you know what I mean? I was 65 years old at the bus stop on the corner when the Lord came into my life So now throw up the peace sign and I just move on if something bad happens.
I Was born raised here here, but I moved on when I was 14. My mom had died and I got a little Social Security thing about $60,
$70, but you'd get a 30 -day bus pass through Greyhound or Trailways to go anywhere you wanted to for 30 days. And that's what I did. I went all over the country on the bus when I was 14.
By the time I was 16, I'd been to every state in the United States. except Alaska or Hawaii. Every state. And I always got off and stayed.
The only one I never stayed in was New York, because I got off at New York and wanted to get me a little weed, and this guy just took all my money, you know what I mean?
I was out in California, I did ten years in prison in California, ten years, sixteen I was out in California, ten years, sixteen years. to be exact. My brother helped me get my parole here.
I was living for the Lord. I thought I was living for the Lord. I was driving a truck and I met her at Waffle House.
She was the manager of Waffle House and a cook. She cooked me up some meat. good delicious eggs and Bacon she did fine job for me That's I always leave her at three or four dollar tip didn't want to go crazy and I said tell her how pretty she was and One thing led to another and I had two kids when I was 60 years old Oh You know my life You know,
my life has worked out in decades. You know, like chapters in a book. I'm in my last chapter right now. My neighbors, they started out tolerating me.
And now I'm welcome with open arms. It's amazing and what a what a what a couple of years will do for you.
you. It's not too late for anybody. at shod companies.
She Speaks is produced, edited, and scored by the very talented Travis Tench at Oak Hill Audio. If you loved the episode you just heard and want to support Let Her Speak's mission of elevating real women's stories,
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Together, we will make our voices heard.
