Each day, we humans participate in a common activity—the ancient craft of storytelling. Reading the daily paper, watching movies, or catching up with friends—sharing or listening to stories is at the heart of our nature. But can telling your story have benefits for your health? “Yes, most definitely,” says Paul Browde, actor, psychiatrist, and narrative therapist, “it made all the difference to my health and life."

Sharing the healing power of storytelling is a narrative exercise that Browde and his fellow actor Murray Nossel, an academy-nominated documentary filmmaker, have engaged audiences in for the last 14 years through Two Men Talking, a live unscripted performance that has been  showcased to acclaim in New York, London, and South Africa. On stage, the two men explore a variety of stories: growing up  white, Jewish, and gay  under apartheid in South Africa; homophobia; racism; AIDS; and most importantly,  their friendship and the passage of time.

Claudia Glaser-Mussen, the sassy singer-accordionist of the Grammy- nominated  children's rock band, Brady  Rymer and The Little Band That Could, has a lot to say about her muse, “I can feel my mother's presence on stage, when I perform; she inspires me and I'm able to  convey that energy to the audience.” A thread of music runs through  Glaser-Mussen’s life, "I grew up in a home where music was a part of our  experience,” she says. Music never became more important for Glaser-Mussen  than it did in the final stages of her mother’s life, when she was coping with Alzheimer’s disease. In this telling, WNYC radio interview, Opera Mom,  Glaser-Mussen and her brother, violinist Matt Glaser, reflected on the role that music had in the  care of their mother, Jeanette Glaser-Taubin, a professional opera singer.