top of page

My So-Called Lungs

Laura Rothenberg spent most of her life knowing she was going to die young.

She had cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs. When she was born, the life expectancy for people with CF was around 18 years. (It's more than double that now.) Laura liked to say she went through her mid-life crisis when she was a teenager.

Joe met Laura when she was 19 and gave her a tape recorder. And for two years, she kept an audio diary of her battle with cystic fibrosis and her attempts to live a normal life - with lungs that often betrayed her.



We have generous support from The New York Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, the South Carolina Humanities Council, the Omer Foundation, and our community of listeners. Thank you. 

 

© 2025 by Radio Diaries. Powered and secured by Wix 

 

bottom of page