Last spring, I sat down with Sharon Adams, co-founder of Walnut Way Conservation Corp., to chat with her about her work. I was working on a story for a  series called Coming Home, which explored the lives of Milwaukeeans who’d moved away from the city but who ultimately returned to make a difference in their hometown.

I knew Adams, and I knew her work in the Lindsay Heights community had been impactful, so I was excited to talk with her. However, what I didn't expect is for it to be one of the most moving interviews I’ve ever conducted.

We talked for three hours, every moment painstakingly recorded and later transcribed. And as I sat with the transcription, weaving our meandering conversation into a cohesive story, I remember being distinctly moved – nearly to tears – at certain junctures. "What a phenomenal woman," I thought to myself many times, "I need to know more people like Sharon Adams. I need to BE more like Sharon Adams."

So, when I saw that NPR had featured a StoryCorps segment during "Morning Edition" about Sharon and her husband Larry, I immediately tuned in. And wow. It's only three minutes long, but it's powerful stuff. 

It literally gave me the chills – those genuine, amazing, we’re-all-human-and-that’s-amazing chills, as well as the holy-cow-these-Milwaukee-folks-are-amazing chills. 

It also made me think: Maybe love really IS the answer, after all.

So give it a listen. But put on a sweater first.