Ua living library, where the books to borrow are people, who tell their own story. An almost always “uphill” story, for which it is not always possible to find attentive readers. But thanks to which exciting books and sensitive readers can truly meet.
The splendid setting
This is how the experience of the living library was presented to me, open for one day only, at the Parenti theater in Milan in mid-October. In the splendid setting of the foyer, covered in wood of a warm honey-coloured tone, the books of the library, the librarians and aspiring readers, present in the proportion of over nine to one compared to male readers, leafed through the catalog of Kindness for the mind – Mental health stories.
An intriguing catalogue
You could choose between Spark, Crowded solitudes, The box of thoughts… And many other titles, with which people willing to tell their stories had labeled the story of their lives, crossed by mental distress. Each book was waiting, sitting in front of a seat left free for the new reader.
Overall view of the day at the Parenti Theatre. Photo by Francesca Bellini
The living library opens hearts
«The living library or Human Library was born in Denmark 25 years ago» Davide Motto di explains to me Cnca Lombardy who promoted this day. «A way of opening a gap in the closed reaction of a community to the arrival of migrants, which had triggered episodes of bullying. From there it has spread to 80 countries around the world, in Italy it has many experiences in Milan, Turin, Sondrio, Varese. In Prato, Venice, Montevarchi… They are not fixed structures, but flying libraries, open for just one day. Through the one-to-one relationship – but also up to a maximum of four readers at the same time – they connect unknown people who in a less welcoming or protected context would perhaps never have the opportunity to meet.”
The ideal is one reader for each book, but sometimes it reaches four.
Stories of psychiatric illness
Today at In Milan you read books that tell stories of mental illness and its journey. But they are there living libraries equipped with talking books with stories of migration, of serious addiction, with people who have acted as bullies or who have faced/are facing cancer.
Living Library: Scintilla
I take it from the shelf SparkI sit in front of Tommaso, who is a little over 50 years old and “acted crazy” for three yearsafter falling into mental illness, which made him see enemies everywhere. In a short time he lost contact with his children, his family, he gave up his job, he experienced the expulsion of the small community in which he lived.
Write a living library book
«Thomas, like the others, he prepared a plot for his story. He chose what to tell about his life, guided in a process of four meetings with the operators» explains Cristina Savino, trainer for Empathy foundation who with the Municipality of Milan and Cnca organized this and many other living library days. «He (has been) a psychiatric patient. But among the titles in the catalog today there are also service workers and parents of mentally ill people» explains Savino. «Preconceptions in the field of mental health affect everyone. For example, the fact of labeling operators as good or, on the contrary, cold people who must harden up to survive. And for those who have been on the margins, who have lived as “assisted”, sharing this experience with those who are on the other side and “assist” is a disruptive achievement.”
A fortune to share
Riccardo Ottino from Lugano tells me for many years struggling with an oncological disease: «My book is called I’m a lucky guy. Who comes to read me, in the events organized in collaboration with the association Lugano Triangle, I tell you my vision of the experience with cancer. Which I think positively responsible for changing my life. And this is why FrFor almost eight years I have made my point of view available on my journey (Riccardo has recovered, but still has to take drugs to counteract the side effects of his treatments, ed.). I read a text that I always propose the same precisely to have the guarantee of transmitting to the reader all the essence of my experience, without being influenced by the context. I always warn readers, often sick people, or relatives and friends of people struggling with cancer, that with my story I do not intend to cause offense to anyone who has a different experience of the disease.”
Question time
But tlet’s go back to Thomas. the author of Spark. He asked me not to interrupt him with questions, but after a few minutes a space for dialogue already opens in the flow of words. In this beautiful room, I then ask him what what hurt him the most. Answer: understanding that they had labeled my daughter as “the madman’s daughter”; realizing that when he was admitted to hospital everyone was mourning him, “as if I were already dead”. Then the story continues, and I discover my protagonist as he enters and leaves the psychiatric facility, then finds a new home, a new everyday life.
Why be called Scintilla
What did Tommaso see in the eyes of others, I ask him: «The fear of being infected, of not being able to predict my reactionit’s the one that pushed everyone away from me.” Until the spark of the title struck: «A nurse in the psychiatric ward who looked at me with different eyes, who saw a person in me. Thanks to him I accepted the help of the psychologist and the psychiatrist. And I’m here.”
Feeling rejected by colleagues
This volume of the talking library is closed I choose The thought box written by Cristina. If Tommaso was an action book, a swashbuckling novel, that of this sweet girl who speaks in muffled tones is more of a diary. The loneliness and bullying she experienced at school had caused her to sink into depression and obsessive compulsive disorder at the onset of her youth. But obstacles recurred when entering the world of workwhen she had to face and overcome the ostracism of her colleagues. A difficulty that comes step by step she managed to resolve, even by putting the dark thoughts, those that prevent her from keeping the bar of her life straight, in a boxkeeping them away from you.
The effort of being a book
«After an hour or so, that is, about two readings, I’m exhausted, hot, my adrenaline is rising» Riccardo tells me. «Exposing yourself with your story is not easy, nor is it easy to answer clearly the questions that often come from people involved in some way in the cancer experience. I listen, I don’t judge anything».
Have you done the review?
«The reading ends with the writing of a short review, which will be given to the books in a return event that takes place a few days later», Cristina Savino explains to me.
«The experience of others is not right or wrong: it is their story» adds Martina Vallarino, psychologist working at the Empatia foundation. «It may be easier or more difficult to connect with the talking library book we are browsing. But the one-to-one relationship opens up a space of intimacy that keeps judgment at a distance. The judgment regarding those who “speak”, but also of us as good or bad readers. As with any novel, readers should feel free to feel more attuned to some stories than others.” These are not testimonies, which always have a somewhat edifying flavor, they are stories entrusted to a face-to-face meeting, a moment of communion.
What drives you to put yourself on the shelf?
For those who get involved with their uphill story in the living library, the first gain is to reclaim your path. Cristina Savino explains: «They made the discomfort, the discomfort they have went through a path of social healing. Which they are proud of. Proud of their own fragility which they expose to the gaze of others.” «Sometimes readers ask me», Tommaso told me instead «“have you recovered?”. What does “cured” mean, I take the medicine. The important thing is that I’m fine, I don’t intend to erase what I experienced».
The strength of the gaze
«The positive vision of my journey often leaves people amazed» confides Riccardo «I remember two friends – two girls from nursing school, moved to tears by my story. Was a moment of very strong emotion and communion for all three. I think the most significant thing about this reading is the gaze of someone who reads a volume from the living library. There is no “normal” reading that gives this sensation.”