Human Library

Check out some interesting people at the Human Library, where volunteer “books” will help create dialogue and understanding based on their own personal stories.

The Human Library is a library of people and their experiences with prejudice. Instead of paperbacks, actual people are on loan for conversations. This is a drop-in event, so feel free to stop by any time between 12:30 and 4 p.m. Once you arrive, you will have the opportunity to sign up to speak with the books of your choice. 

The concept is about acknowledging and challenging the prejudice that we all carry toward one another. The Human Library creates a safe space for conversation where topics that may be taboo, marginalized or stigmatized can be openly addressed without judgement. 

Meet our "books"! 

On the Margin: Being Bi-Racial
What happens when someone asks, "What are you?” The biracial experience – a complex sense of heritage and aspiration - is often overlooked and lumped into the category of 'other'. For most of her life, she’s been told that she’s not Asian enough and not white enough; that she’s different and that she doesn’t belong. On the Margin had to decide how she wanted to identify to find peace within herself.

F Pray Heal: A Traumatic Grief
After losing her mom and the person she thought she would spend the rest of her life with in the same month and facing unexpected career challenges, F Pray Heal finds herself drowning in a loveless spiral of grief and unhealed trauma. There is no fancy trip to India she can take to go find herself again. And if there were, she couldn't afford to book the flight. With her bank account in overdraft and her therapist away on vacation, F Pray Heal is forced to face grief while struggling through poverty.

Recovering Out Loud
Recovering Out Loud started using drugs from a very early age and consequently, has been to prison four times. After her last trip to prison, she received treatment for her addiction and turned her life around. Today, she has been sober for over 7 years and works in the recovery/reentry field. She has experienced many blessings, such as her reunited family, a full pardon from the governor, and a house with Habitat for Humanity, but most importantly, a life filled with purpose and direction.

I’m Just As Surprised As You Are
It’s surprising how things turned out considering the start of them! Experiencing a traumatic childhood, her family fell apart at 9 years old as I’m Just As Surprised As You Are chose to leave home to ensure she had a better upbringing and chance for joy. Born with a crown on her head, most of what she has accomplished seems to be luck. The choices and circumstances proved that case. To look at her now, you would never guess the story. The journey of trauma to joy.

Taking the Long Way
Part of her childhood was spent in government housing and the rest in a trailer home in rural southeast Arkansas. Her journey led her to Northwest Arkansas where she made her home and found a community she could never have imagined as a child. The journey was not without discomfort but along the way Taking the Long Way learned unique problem-solving skills and the ability to be assertive. She never thought she would be here simply because she didn’t know "here" existed.

Off the Grid
Off the Grid has been living in isolated, rural Washington County for over 25 years, off the grid, with solar electric before it was readily available. He takes drinking water from a well, tends a small flock of chickens, makes a small garden, and collects wild edibles. He has a working artist studio and a small cabin. That description brings connotations and stereotypes about back-to-the-landers, hippies, hillbillies, survivalists and rednecks, but Off the Grid isn’t sure any of these apply to him.

Walking Two Moons
Growing up on the Navajo reservation with her family and siblings until the age of 11, Walking Two Moons was always so certain she was a true Diné woman - until she returned home, and her relatives called her an "apple." Red on the outside, white on the inside. While also navigating the rest of the United States, Alaynna's story opens the discussion of walking two moons on the same world. As an American and as Diné woman.

AuDHD: Passion and Perseverance
Growing up, AuDHD never felt like she truly fit in. Seeing mental health professionals from a young age, she was misdiagnosed with depression, then bipolar disorder before her correct diagnosis of ADHD. This diagnosis made her feel like her life had been turned upside down, but the diagnosis, along with being given an Autism diagnosis, taught her that passion and perseverance was what made her into the person she is today - a person with true grit.

Resilient Souls: Transforming Adversity into Strength
Resilient Souls grew up poor and living with neglect and abuse in the US; her husband grew up poor and well cared for in Africa. There is a vast difference in these circumstances, but what they have in common is the ability to transform their experiences through education to embody resilience. Regardless of education level or net worth, we can all embody resilience throughout the ebbs and flows of our life journey.

Writer’s Block
As an English teacher, occasional writer, and former library assistant, Writer's Block lived a life surrounded by books and language. Writers make choices, but how does someone "make choices" about their life, knowing they don't get a chance at a second draft? He'd love to talk about his experiences coming out as a gay man, serving as an educator in a culture where reading seems perpetually endangered, and volunteering for NWA's LGBT community and FPL Foundation Board.

Reaching the Clearing
Reaching the Clearing has spent his entire adult life in a communication profession but, never thought he had much to say. After a series of events caused him to confront himself and question long held beliefs, he’s emerging into a clearing - a place of contentment and peace. He’s beginning to share some of the things he has learned in hopes of saving someone else from the worry and heartache he experienced to reach the clearing.

Historic Baller
Historic Baller grew up in Arkansas. He was an Arkansas Razorback offensive lineman and three-year letterman (‘81, ‘82, ‘83) under the legendary coach, Lou Holtz. He will share his perspectives and experiences of segregation and racism as a major college football player of color.

Here to Walk You Home: Anecdotes and Observations of a Hospice Nurse
Here to Walk You Home is a theater artist who, for the past decade, has made his living as a nurse working primarily in Hospice. He’s written a book (with the same title) about his experiences. He began chronicling his experiences to provide education and illumination for the general public about this natural part of the human journey. He looks forward to sharing his lived experiences in dying with you!

A is for Adam, Z is for Zealot
A is for Adam, Z is for Zealot deconstructed from Christian Nationalism. She grew up in a fundamentalist household with a cult-like church and school. Her life got turned upside down when she was kicked out and had to go to public school. She broke free from undiagnosed selective mutism and learned about different viewpoints. Swinging to both extremes, from Nondenominational Communist to Traditional Catholic Theocratic Monarchist, she fully deconstructed four years ago. 

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