Laura Stotts: Forgotten Houses, WWII Letters, & What Abandonment Teaches Us. EP 19

Apr 21

On the Actors Podcast, Episode #19, the host interviews photographer Laura Stotts, known online as Diary of Abandonment, who documents abandoned and forgotten houses, artifacts left behind, ghost towns, and gravestone cleaning.

Laura traces her fascination with abandonment to childhood memories of Hurricane Bonnie in 1987, when her Texas apartment complex became suddenly deserted, and explains how her work grew from roadside photos to documenting over 1,000 locations across 19 states, including hospitals and prisons. They discuss how “proof of life” objects spark nostalgia and highlight life’s brevity, the importance of family relationships, and genealogy as a tool for healing and understanding generational trauma.

Laura shares a major find: a large collection of WWII letters, including a story of a B-24 pilot killed in action, and describes her sobriety journey, faith, and service to others.

00:00 Meet Laura Stotts
02:14 Payphone Nostalgia
05:05 How She Finds Houses
06:58 Origin Story Hurricane Bonnie
11:11 From Hobby to Community
13:04 Proof of Life Artifacts
17:15 Lessons on Mortality
26:49 China Shards and Ghost Towns
33:44 Creating Content Today
35:26 World War II Letters Discovery
41:31 Pilot Down Over France
43:26 Mothers Trading War News
45:11 Widow’s Grief Letter
46:22 Hunting the Descendants
50:26 Museum Dead Ends
51:52 Digitize and Publish Advice
55:33 Reading Harold’s 1945 Letter
01:02:10 Full Circle at Wendover
01:04:53 Lost Battalion Play Story
01:09:37 Generations and Disconnection
01:12:44 Hard Work of Old Cabins
01:16:51 Lessons for Feeling Stuck
01:18:13 Sobriety Through Service
01:19:51 Kindness In Darkness
01:21:21 Healing Family History
01:24:02 Genealogy Tools Explained
01:26:31 Patterns And Roadmaps
01:28:53 Free Library Resources
01:31:13 DAR Patriot Mystery
01:35:25 Legacy Journal Practice
01:39:39 Overcoming Any Challenge
01:51:53 Reflections And Wrap Up

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