The Moth Radio Hour: “Clean Breaks”

Release Date: September 9, 2025
Host: Sarah Austin Jenness

Overview

This episode of The Moth Radio Hour explores the concept of “Clean Breaks”: decisive endings, whether from relationships, traditions, homes, or even the past. Through five personal stories, listeners journey from a sixth-grade breakup in Boston to a fresh start in rural Kenya, a childhood mishap in Texas, an unglamorous accident in Queens, and a determined battle with polio in Canada. The central question: are clean breaks truly possible, and do they lead to healing and new beginnings?

Key Discussion Points & Story Summaries

1. A Sixth-Grade Breakup: Maturity Beyond Years

Storyteller: Teresa Wiggins
Location: Boston, MA
Time: [04:07–07:37]

• Scenario: Teresa recounts her brief and innocent sixth-grade romance with Joey Nichols—lasting all of 22 hours.
• Turning Point: While in art class, Teresa realizes Joey’s classroom antics aren’t for her and decides it’s over.
• Method: She writes him a breakup note, prompting an exchange of honest, heartfelt letters mid-class.
• Memorable Quote:
  • “Joey, no! Never change for anyone. You just be you.” – Teresa, [06:57]
• Resolution: The breakup is gentle, direct, and respectful—a rare, clean ending that Teresa notes is “the most mature breakup I have ever had.”

2. A Break from Tradition and Marriage

Storyteller: Adele Onyango
Location: Nairobi, Kenya & Limuru, Kenya
Time: [08:35–20:59]

• Scenario: After her mother’s death, Adele holds tightly to Christmas traditions for comfort, even as she marries into another culture.
• Conflict: Her marriage falters; her non-traditional values clash with expectations from husband and family.
• Turning Point: Post-divorce, Adele searches for a new home. Rejecting unsuitable Nairobi apartments, she chooses Limuru, a peaceful, green town that brought her solace during difficult times.
• Memorable Quote:
  • “Why does everybody want me to be this traditional woman? Even this stranger?” – Adele, [12:45]
• Resolution: In Limuru, supported by her best friend, Adele forges new traditions—her first joyful Christmas since losing her mother:
  • “What mattered was the feelings. … I finally had my own tradition.” – Adele, [20:27]
• Significance: Adele’s story is a celebration of self-acceptance and the courage to redefine home and family on your own terms.

3. The Orange Crush and the Headless Saint

Storyteller: Eric Heen
Location: Houston, TX
Time: [26:03–32:44]

• Scenario: Child Eric dreads visits to his great aunt (“Babushka”)—who puts him to work in her garden.
• Mischievous Plot: Faking illness to escape chores, Eric tries to open a bottle of Orange Crush using a religious statue—and decapitates “St. Joseph of Cupertino.”
• Comic Panic: Racked with guilt and fear of divine wrath, Eric consults his Lutheran mother and his Catholic friend Vince.
• Memorable Quote:
  • “Did the wrath of God fall upon the person who damaged the artifact or on the person who owned the artifact?” – Eric to his mom, [29:19]
• Years Later: Adult Eric learns he broke the “patron saint of peaceful death”—pondering whether he’s doomed to anything less due to that fateful clean break.
• Tone: Warm, self-deprecating humor underscores deeper questions about guilt, superstition, and childhood scrapes.

4. The Cost of a Clean Break (Literally!)

Storyteller: Courtney J. Renee
Location: Queens, NY
Time: [34:03–41:38]

• Scenario: Glamorous “city girl” Courtney races to get ready for a party—only to fall, naked and wet, breaking her ankle in her hallway.
• Predicament: She must choose between dignity (covering up) and finances (avoiding a broken door) before the fire department arrives.
• Notable Moments:
  • First responders arrive—“the most beautiful six firemen you’ve ever seen”—and must fetch her the “raggediest dress you fry chicken in.”
  • Amid pain and embarrassment, she remembers her most urgent priority: “Wait, I don’t have my wig!”
• Memorable Quotes:
  • “I had to choose between my dignity and my finances. And like a capitalist American, I chose my finances.” – Courtney, [36:40]
  • “So the hair was on point. But it’s safe to say I didn’t make it to the party that day. But I did go to the hospital, maintaining my city girl essence.” – Courtney, [41:22]
• Theme: Sometimes, even physical breaks require a sense of humor and fabulous hair.

5. Outlasting Polio – Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary

Storyteller: Safiya Ibrahim
Location: Somalia & Ottawa, Canada
Time: [46:31–55:31]

• Scenario: Safiya tells of contracting polio as a child in Somalia, her years of crawling, and longing to join neighborhood children.
• Defiance: When bullied for wanting to play, Safiya fights back. Her grandmother vows to teach her to walk—she eventually does.
• Migration: Amid Somalia’s civil war, she moves to Canada, receives medical supports, and finally attends school.
• Personal Loss: Years later, while pregnant, she falls, leading to a tragic stillbirth. Safiya confronts grief but resolves to hope.
• Memorable Quotes:
  • “Every time I stood up, I fell down. But then I got back up again.” – Safiya, [47:56]
  • “Because my whole life I have been fighting polio ... but then I realized I’m not the type of person that focuses on what ifs. I’m the type of person that focuses on what could be.” – Safiya, [52:38]
• Redemption: She goes on to have three healthy children. Her family adapts to her falls, embracing a new “ordinary”—which, Safiya realizes, is actually extraordinary.

Notable Quotes & Highlights

• On Breakups and Change:
  “Never change for anyone. … You just be you.” – Teresa Wiggins ([06:57])
• On Tradition and Identity:
  “It didn’t matter that I was divorced. … What mattered was the feelings. That was the best Christmas I had since mommy died.” – Adele Onyango ([20:27])
• On Comic Guilt:
  “I just disfigured Jesus’s dad.” – Eric Heen ([30:38])
• On Dignity vs. Finances:
  “I could either scooch to my room and get clothes, or scooch to the door and open it naked. … I chose my finances.” – Courtney J. Renee ([36:40])
• On Resilience:
  “Every time I stood up, I fell down. But then I got back up again.” – Safiya Ibrahim ([47:56]) “I wasn’t just ordinary like I hoped to be, but I was extraordinary.” – Safiya Ibrahim ([55:27])

Structure & Flow

Episode Flow:

• Introduction to “clean breaks” and what they can mean—physical, emotional, or cultural.
• Five stories, each addressing the theme from a unique perspective and locale.
• Host commentary ties stories together and offers personal reflections on the possibility (or impossibility) of true “clean breaks.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------|---------------| | Introduction & Theme | [03:09] | | Teresa Wiggins: Sixth-Grade Breakup | [04:07–07:37] | | Adele Onyango: New Traditions | [08:35–20:59] | | Eric Heen: Orange Crush & St. Joseph | [26:03–32:44] | | Courtney J. Renee: City Girl Break | [34:03–41:38] | | Safiya Ibrahim: Polio and Perseverance| [46:31–55:31] |

Episode Tone & Takeaways

• Language & Tone: Witty, candid, poignant, and often humorous. The episode balances serious life changes with levity.
• Central Takeaway: Clean breaks may be rare, and often bittersweet; yet they clear the way for growth, reinvention, laughter, and quiet triumphs.

For Further Information
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