Stories from Real Life

FOREVER Digital Storage - Their mission is to be the complete, permanent, and safe place where millions of families save and enjoy their memories for generations. Please support this sponsor of the podcast.In this episode of Stories from Real Life, host Melvin E. Edwards speaks with Dr. Nelva Lee, a candidate for Georgia Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Lee shares her journey from being a homeschool mom to a healthcare leader and educator, emphasizing the importance of school choice, vocational training, and empowering parents. She discusses her leadership experiences, insights from government health policy, and the need for schools to support families. Dr. Lee also reflects on her faith’s role in public service and offers encouragement to students about discovering their purposeDr. Nelva LeeStories from Real Life.Keywordseducation, school choice, vocational training, leadership, empowerment, family support, public service, faith, Georgia, Dr. Nelva Lee Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

What happens when the life you’ve spent years building suddenly no longer fits the person you’ve become?For identity coach Sass Schaeffer, that question isn’t theoretical. Her own journey through major professional and personal upheaval forced her to confront something deeper than how to rebuild her circumstances: she had to reconsider who she was.In this episode of Stories from Real Life, Sass joins Melvin E. Edwards for an intimate conversation about identity, loss, reinvention, and the strange territory between the person you once were and the person you’re becoming.They explore why major transitions—career changes, divorce, empty nesting, retirement, loss, and unexpected disruption—can shake our sense of identity even when everything looks fine from the outside. Sass also challenges one of the most common ideas surrounding difficult transitions: that the goal should always be to “get back to yourself.”What if the person you’re trying to recover isn’t the person you’re meant to be anymore?Melvin and Sass discuss the difference between losing yourself and outgrowing yourself, the role fear can play in our desire for control, the grief that can accompany leaving an old identity behind, and how we begin discovering what we actually want after years of living according to roles, responsibilities, and expectations.In this conversation:• How Sass’s own life disruptions changed her understanding of identity• Why rebuilding your circumstances isn’t necessarily the same as rebuilding yourself• The hidden identity crisis that can accompany major life transitions• Why “getting back to who I used to be” may be the wrong goal• How to recognize when you’ve outgrown an earlier version of yourself• The relationship between fear, control, and uncertainty• Separating what you genuinely want from what others expect of you• Why successful, accomplished people can still lose their sense of self• How small choices can help create a new identity• Finding possibility when life doesn’t unfold according to planAt the heart of the conversation is a deceptively simple question:Who are you when you remove your job title, your relationships, your possessions, and everything else you’ve used to explain yourself?Perhaps starting over isn’t always about finding your way back.Maybe you’re not lost. Maybe you’re becoming.About Sass SchaefferSass Schaeffer is a life identity coach who helps women navigate significant transitions and reconnect with who they are and what they want from the next chapter of their lives. Drawing from her own experiences with unexpected change and reinvention, her work focuses on identity, self-discovery, positivity, and creating a life that reflects who a person is becoming rather than simply who they have been.@sass_schaeffer on Instagram YouTube channelAbout Stories from Real LifeStories from Real Life is an interview podcast hosted by award-winning journalist, author, and publisher Melvin E. Edwards. Through thoughtful conversations with people whose lives have taken extraordinary, unexpected, or meaningful turns, the podcast explores the experiences that shape who we become.Everybody has a story, and every story deserves to be told.Media Well Done, LLC Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

What would you do if you opened an old binder at an estate sale and realized you were holding a piece of World War II history?Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and military historian Patrick W. Naughton Jr. knew almost immediately that he had found something extraordinary.Inside the worn binder was a history created by the soldiers of Baker Battery, 881st Field Artillery Battalion, 69th Infantry Division—typed recollections, original sketches, poems, rosters, jokes and firsthand observations from the men who had fought their way across Europe during the final months of World War II.They hadn’t written it for historians. They had written it for each other.In this episode of Stories from Real Life, Patrick tells the remarkable story of discovering that binder and the research that followed. He also discusses his own 30-year Army career, his work as a military historian, and the deeply personal circumstances under which he completed the project while undergoing cancer treatment.The result is Baker Battery Goes to War: The Wartime Writings and Sketches of a World War II Artillery Unit in the Fighting 69th, coming from Media Well Done on Veterans Day, November 11, 2026.This isn’t simply another history of World War II. It’s an opportunity to hear the war through the voices of the ordinary soldiers who actually lived it.Pre-order the book here: Media Well Done, LLC Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

Andre Robertson on Texas, the Yankees, and the accident that changed everythingFormer Major League shortstop Andre Robertson joins Melvin E. Edwards to trace a career that moves from Orange, Texas to the University of Texas, the New York Yankees, and the 1981 World Series. He also reflects on the racial barriers he faced, the coaches and teammates who shaped him, and the car accident that reshaped his playing career and life.We discuss:How Andre fell in love with baseball as a kid in Orange, why Texas was the right choice over going pro right out of high school, and what it meant to become the first African American baseball scholarship player at UT. He also shares stories about Yogi Berra, Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, Tommy John, and George Steinbrenner.Key topics* Andre recalls growing up in Orange, Texas, where he started organized baseball at age 8 and played with some of the first Black Little League players in his area.* He tells two clubhouse stories, including Yogi Berra’s strange instruction to “pair up in threes” and Rickey Henderson’s third-person humor.* His father coached him early on and helped shape his approach to competition, discipline, and team-first thinking.* Andre talks about seeing Willie Mays as a kid and realizing he wanted to play at the highest level.* He explains how a state track meet in Austin led to Texas coach Cliff Gustafson recruiting him after seeing his athleticism.* At Texas, he had to switch from shortstop to second base, where assistant coach Bill Bethea helped refine his footwork and turn him into a better pro prospect.* He reflects on the 1979 College World Series, Texas’ dominant run, and the disappointment of being knocked out by Arkansas and a California team.* Andre describes the social reality of being the only Black player on the Texas team for three years and how he responded to racism by focusing on the game.* He talks about leaving after his junior year, later returning to finish his degree in 1992 through correspondence courses.* Andre explains the culture shock of going from Orange, Texas to New York City and how he mentally narrowed his focus to handle Yankee Stadium pressure.* He shares his major league debut in 1981, Reggie Jackson’s advice to “do what you did to get here,” and the confidence boost from getting hits in his first game.* He reflects on the 1981 World Series, his limited role as a pinch runner, and the humility of being part of a championship-caliber roster.* Andre remembers Tommy John as a friendly teammate and as a pitcher whose elbow surgery and long career made an impact on the game.* He discusses George Steinbrenner’s demanding standards and says the owner’s expectations matched the Yankee tradition of winning.* Andre recounts the 1983 car accident that fractured his C2 vertebrae, his long recovery, and the blessing of being able to return to baseball at all.* After playing, he moved into substitute teaching briefly and then spent decades working at DuPont, now Dow.* He closes with a look at his family, including three successful children, and his plans for retirement, golf tournaments, and more time with his wife.* The episode ends with his playful Texas and Texas A&M rivalry story, including the card-signing event where Aggies were reluctant to take UT pictures.Notable quotes“My father always told me, you don’t need to talk about yourself, but let other people tell your stories.”“Do what you did to get here.”“It wasn’t lucky, I was blessed.”Media Well Done, LLC Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe

Long before Clint Hurdle became one of baseball’s most recognizable managers, he was the kid everyone expected to become a star.A first-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1975, Hurdle reached the major leagues at 20 and soon found himself on the cover of Sports Illustrated under enormous expectations. His playing career ultimately followed a different path — but the lessons that came with it would shape everything that followed.Hurdle went on to build a remarkable second act as a coach, teacher, and manager. He led the Colorado Rockies to the 2007 World Series and later helped transform the Pittsburgh Pirates, taking them back to the postseason in 2013 after a 20-year absence.But his most important story may be the one beyond wins and losses.In this episode of Stories from Real Life, Melvin E. Edwards talks with Clint Hurdle about being labeled a future star before adulthood, confronting disappointment, learning from failure, sobriety, family, leadership and discovering that sometimes the life you were supposed to have isn’t nearly as meaningful as the life you eventually build.Hurdle-isms bookMedia Well Done, LLC Get full access to Melvin E. Edwards at storiesfromreallife.substack.com/subscribe