Melissa and her son Issaiah in 1996 / Melissa and her sons Issaiah and Tyron in 2013. Photos by Radio Diaries and David Gilkey/NPR.

As an 18 year old, Melissa recorded an audio diary as she gave birth to her son Issaiah. Over the next two decades, Melissa and her son faced many challenges, from eviction notices to a life-threatening medical diagnosis. Melissa recently recorded a new “grown-up” diary chronicling her life as a single working mother and introducing listeners to teenage Issaiah. In this episode, listen to both of her diaries and a behind-the-scenes interview.

Radio Diaries is part of Radiotopia from PRX, a podcast network with 13 great shows. Today’s episode is supported by Casper, online retailer of obsessively engineered mattresses. To get $50 off your first purchase, go to www.casper.com/diaries and use the code DIARIES at checkout.