As an adolescent, Kurt Jackson was hurting. His high school years had been ravaged by traumas he was not equipped to process. In the span of several years, he lost a brother to suicide, his…

Have a plan and practice it every day. That’s the advice JJ Davis got from a woman he calls “Grandma.” Again and again at key points in his life, she encouraged him to work hard…

Over the course of 45 minutes — an eternity, really — Jerry Schemmel figured he was going to die. The date was July 19, 1989.  Schemmel, then 29, was aboard United Airlines Flight 232, along…