Inspiring Stories Archives

Interview with Annette Herfkens, the Sole Survivor of the Plane Crash in Vietnam

How does one person survive when everyone else is gone? In this compelling EMN interview, J.B. Gattini speaks with Annette Herfkens, the sole survivor of a 1992 plane crash in the Vietnamese jungle, where she spent eight days injured, alone and surrounded by wreckage. Her story is not only about survival, but about love, loss, intuition, acceptance and a profound shift in consciousness.

Years later, Herfkens returned to the mountain where everything changed — not for closure, she says, but to open her heart.

From Gang Leader, Criminal and Drug Addict to Being a Gentleman

J.B.Gattini, From Smokie to Eric: A Story of Redemption

What happens when a man who spent much of his life in gangs, drugs and prison is given another chance? In this personal story, EMN founder and editor J.B. Gattini recalls meeting Eric, a former gang leader who had spent 24 years behind bars, and witnessing his difficult but remarkable transformation. Through work, friendship, faith, fatherhood and many honest conversations, the man once known as “Smokie” gradually became someone almost unrecognizable from his past. Eric’s Story is ultimately about redemption — and about how much a human being can change when someone is willing to see more than his history.

J.B. Gattini, The Time of My Life: Helluva Town – My First Days in America

In this personal story, EMN founder and editor J.B. Gattini reflects on her first days in America—arriving in New York in 1995 with a childhood vision of a country where dreams came true. What she found was far less perfect, and far more meaningful.

J.B. Gattini, The Time of My Life: Reception

What was a young Lithuanian consul doing at one of Moscow’s grandest diplomatic receptions just a year after the Soviet Union collapsed — and why was everyone staring at her? In this personal story, EMN founder and editor J.B. Gattini recalls an extraordinary evening that brings back memories of Lithuania’s fight for independence, diplomatic tension, unexpected love, and the surreal experience of watching history turn in her country’s favor. Reception is a vivid firsthand glimpse into a moment when enemies could become colleagues, an empire had disappeared, and a young diplomat realized that the adventure was only beginning.

J.B. Gattini, The Baltic Way – the Biggest Peaceful Demonstration in the History of the USSR

What does freedom look like before it becomes reality? On August 23, 1989, nearly two million people across Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia answered that question by joining hands in a human chain stretching more than 600 kilometers across the Baltic states. In this personal story, EMN founder and editor J.B. Gattini recalls taking part in the Baltic Way — an extraordinary peaceful demonstration that helped show the world that the Baltic nations wanted their freedom back. The Baltic Way is both a firsthand memory and a reminder of what can happen when millions of ordinary people stand together without violence, united by one idea.

J.B. Gattini, The Time of My Life: Gaining Diplomatic Experience

How does a young consul learn diplomacy when her country has only just regained its independence? In this personal story, EMN founder and editor J.B. Gattini recalls learning the art of diplomacy in Moscow in the early 1990s — from formal receptions, negotiations to vodka-fueled conversations, unexpected friendships and bouquets of roses. Gaining Diplomatic Experience is a warm, humorous look at a remarkable time when Lithuania was building a new state, and one young diplomat discovered that sometimes the most effective diplomacy begins not with protocol, but with how you treat people.

J.B. Gattini, The Time of My Life: Jurate Goes to London

A self-diagnosed Anglophile, my whole life, I could not have been more excited when on a beautiful, crisp, cool day in January 1993 I was on a plane landing at Heathrow International Airport. I had never been there before, but for some reason, I loved England all my life – for me, it was a country of great culture and sophistication, the country of Shakespeare and Benjamin Disraeli, the country where I could wear a hat and nobody would stare at me!

J.B. Gattini, Reunion

What happens when a child is told that someone she loves should disappear from her life? In this deeply personal story, EMN founder and editor J.B. Gattini recalls being separated from her father at the age of ten — and the letter, written twenty years later, that changed everything. Reunion is a moving story about family, forgiveness, lost time and second chances, and a reminder that sometimes one act of courage can reopen a door we thought had closed forever.

Peter Shepherd, My Transformational Moment

It was a time in England when there was a recession. I’d gotten into debt and wasn’t earning enough – the situation spiraled into bankruptcy. I lost my home and business and because of that my relationship collapsed too. I was left with nothing and after having fought this for so long, I felt in despair.

J.B. Gattini, Honoring my Ancestors: Emilia Plater – Lithuanian (and Polish) Joan of Arc

Countess Emilia Plater (German-Switz: Broel Plater, Lithuanian: Emilija Pliaterytė); (11/13/1806 – 12/23/1831) was a noblewoman and revolutionary from the lands of the partitioned Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She became a symbol of women fighting for the national cause. She is often nicknamed a Lithuanian Joan of Arc (and Polish Joan of Arc).

Gail Harris, Embrace the Anger

“Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.” –Benjamin Franklin. I found that quote on Brainy quotes. In fact, they had 28 pages of quotations on the subject of anger, and although I didn’t read them all, I did read several dozen, and they all reflected a similar philosophy – that anger is a negative passion.

Jolanta Talaikiene, The seventh angel came down

Marilyn Jenett, A Holiday Story: Against the Odds

(From Marilyn’s online memoir, Feel Free to Prosper: An Entrepreneurial Memoir of Synchronicity and Guidance… ) Taking Care of Business. My prosperity teachings and spiritual philosophy champion the use of positive words and ideas only. However, in an apparently negative situation usually lies the seed of a valuable lesson and I decided to share this story with you, hoping that you, also, will appreciate the lesson.