Suzanne Rust

He's proud to say that getting into necessary trouble has been a regular part of his life.

He hopes his story will inspire people to stand up and speak out.

To see photos of EJ with his mother and brother, go to themoth.org.

Next up, a young girl striving for holiness and a mother's most difficult choice when The Moth Radio Hour continues.

This is the Moth Radio Hour.

I'm Suzanne Rust.

This next story is about a little girl discovering the world of saints and sinners.

Mary Furlong-Coomer told it at a story slam in Louisville, Kentucky, where we partner with WFPL.

Here's Mary.

Mary Furlong-Coomer is a fitness instructor for seniors at her local Y in Louisville, Kentucky, and her main hobby is dancing of every kind.

Mary recently turned 80, and she likes to refer to it as Act 5 of Final 20.

At the end of her story, Mary says that she felt holy.

So I asked her what that meant to her back then and what it means to her now.

She said when she was little, it meant that because she had bungled her confession, her absolution probably didn't count, so she had to face up and manage her own vindication.

Today, it means continuing her 12-step journey, which has helped keep her sober since 1986.

Mary likes to say, I had better luck with the 12 steps than with either the 10 commandments or the five precepts.

To see photos of little Mary at her Holy Communion, go to themoth.org.

When survival is at stake, sometimes the most difficult and painful choices have to be made.

We met our next storyteller, Karen Kibara, in one of our global community workshops in Nairobi, Kenya, where she shared a story of surviving domestic abuse.

After the workshop, Karen told the story at a Moth event that we produced during the UN General Assembly, featuring stories of women and girls.