Catherine Rhianna Hess, Independence

Odyssey storytellers declared themselves independent from many different things at the July 2015 Independence show, but none larger than Catherine Rhianna Hess' twin oppressors. And if you didn't expect our 4th of July podcast to be about boobs, you might not have been paying attention. From Catherine's Odyssey bio: Born just outside the Bible belt to a welfare-for-life mother and an illiterate father, privileges were not readily available to Catherine Rhianna Hess. Her father was granted custody of her as a teenager and brought her out West. Because of poor instruction and poor role modeling, Catherine had children too young and it set her up for imminent failures, like dead end jobs and little chance for education. At 39 she decided that if she wanted a better life for her youngest son, she needed an education. Catherine started the UA in Spring 2011. In Spring 2013, she was a victim of gun violence by another student she was dating, and that propelled her to get the scholarships and grants necessary to study abroad in Orvieto, Italy that summer. She felt like she deserved it, dammit! She graduated in 2014. This episode was performed and recorded in front of a live audience at The Screening Room in Tucson, AZ, on July 9th, 2015, and was curated by Drew Cronyn. For more information about Odyssey Storytelling, please visit www.odysseystorytelling.com