When Mary Sylvester’s mom died, the first person she called was Elizabeth Lundal. They’ve been best friends since they were little girls, starting in Girl Scouts, running around outside each other’s childhood homes. 

Their friendship has continued through adulthood. They came to the Chicago StoryCorps booth, where they reminded each other of these stories from growing up, and realizing they were both gay. Mary came out to her parents when she was in her twenties.

StoryCorps’ mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to share, record and preserve their stories. These excerpts, edited by WBEZ, present some of our favorites from the current visit, as well as from previous trips.