MLA’s sixth Virtual Living Library will be held on Thursday, December 4, from 1:00-3:00 pm CST.
What exactly is a Living Library and why would I want to attend?
The Living Library is an event that is comprised of “books”, and each of those books is a person who has a lived experience that often is met with stereotypes, prejudices, and misunderstandings.
Have you ever wanted to ask someone who is different from you questions but have been too shy to ask or not even know how to ask the question? This is the event for you. Each book will share their introduction to their experience, and readers are then able to ask the book questions they are curious about without judgment. This is an interactive and often very enlightening experience, with both readers and the books themselves coming away with much more than expected. This is a chance to talk about topics we may not understand very well through those that have experienced them.
To register:
- Please read the book descriptions below to decide the top 5 books you’d like to “check out.” Some have multiple topics.
- Complete and submit the registration form below by end of day Monday, December 1.
Before the event:
- Be sure to reserve December 4; 1pm-3pm CST on your calendar.
- Read the MLA Statement of Appropriate Conduct.
- Watch for an email closer to the session with titles of the two books you will read and the Zoom link to the event.
Fall 2025 Living Library Book Titles and Descriptions:
Reflections of Adult Caregiving: Lessons I Learned Along the Way As a carer and health advocate for my mother, I’ve experienced anxiety, guilt, frustration, loneliness, emotional and physical stress, and exhaustion. Following the loss of my mother, I was able to reflect on the experience and work towards emotional healing and self-care. Today, I share my strategies that helped me get through some of the more challenging moments of that time.
A Survivor of Stage 4 Cancer and a Protracted Job Search Shares Her Journey To Health Sciences Librarianship I have been an academic librarian (non-medical) since 1994, but between 2007 and 2022, took a long hiatus, and wound up pivoting to health sciences librarianship, where I am today. It began as a desire to stay home to raise my child (and then, two children), after which I intended to get back to work. The 2008 recession was my first obstacle. Then, in 2013, I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. After surgery and radiation, I was followed and in 2014, a scan found that melanoma had metastasized to my lungs. I was treated with immunotherapy, but that treatment was stopped when I developed a severe reaction to the medication. In 2015, a scan found no evidence of disease in my lungs. 24 hours later, I had trouble finding words, and an MRI found nine tumors in my brain. I immediately began treatment with targeted therapy, underwent two gamma knife surgeries, and have had no active disease since 2016.
Trans & Disabled in a neo-fascist world: health librarianship & life as Praxis
Description: More bills are being passed that restrict transgender and gender non-conforming folk’s pursuit of gender affirming care, with no restriction on cisgender people’s pursuit of gender affirming surgeries, hormones, or treatments. This impact is multiplied by the bills specifically targeting trans people who are also autistic, ADHD, or depressed- calling them comorbid conditions or arguing that those conditions need to be “resolved” in order to qualify them to receive gender affirming care. Soph shares what it’s like to work in a field that is politically aimed towards their eradication and what they do to keep fighting and thriving.
Surviving is Hard to do/Being a Neurodivergent Leader (two books) The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is credited with the aphorism “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” but in reality, what didn’t kill me made me quiet. Reserved. Distrusting. And has stayed with me throughout my life. It didn’t make me stronger – if anything it has put me in a constant state of fight or flight that I haven’t escaped since I was a child. I am a “survivor” of childhood sexual abuse, domestic abuse, the child of someone killed by a drunk driver, and the ex-wife of an addict and alcoholic. I have spent my life surviving life. Somewhere along the way I had to learn how to blend surviving and thriving; otherwise, I was going to be defined by my trauma.
Being a Neurodivergent Leader When I was 14, I was in a car wreck that caused a seizure disorder and chronic migraines that I have lived with since. In my early 30’s, I was diagnosed with complex PTSD and dissociative seizures due to past trauma. Then, in my late 30’s, I suffered a traumatic brain injury when I fell 20 feet out of a second story window. I have memory issues – my brain gets tired and, with all of these issues compounded, my good and bad days can be more profound than someone without these cognitive issues. In leadership, it is critical that we keep control of our emotions in situations, are aware and inclusive of the needs of others, and advocate for the removal or mitigation of barriers. However, when it comes to our own needs, we are hesitant to speak up, especially in Higher Education or Health Care, for the fear of being perceived as ‘less than’ and losing our credibility or authority. This is my journey in how I have, and have not, learned how to advocate for myself as a neurodivergent individual in leadership.
Call Long COVID whatever you like/”ACEs? What does that mean?” (two books) You can call it whatever you like: Long COVID, long haulers, post-COVID, post-acute COVID, etc. The takeaway is that the impacts of COVID don’t necessarily stop when the infectious part of the disease is over. This waxing and waning presentation translates into an experiential roller coaster that can touch any and all parts of body and mind, unpredictably altering or impairing function over days, weeks, months, and years. Here’s a peek behind the curtain of life as a person with Long COVID after more than 2000 days
ACEs? What does that mean? is a question I often get when I mention this topic. Some people think it might have something to do with playing cards. Others think there is a new way to score how asexual you are. No, none of those. Some people have heard about impacts of childhood trauma on health, but may not be aware of “Adverse Childhood Events” as the source of the acronym. Even those who have heard of this are seldom aware of how many use their ACE score as a secret code to communicate with other survivors, and how it can be used for empowerment and creating resilience.
A convert to Islam in the age of the muslim ban As a Muslim convert I often say that I walk in two worlds, yet belong to neither. Many of us are shunned by friends and family after we embrace Islam, and in the mosques we are often ignored at best. In today’s social and political climate being visibly Muslim can carry with a great deal of anxiety, with Muslim women often being easy targets of public harassment.
Not Alone: The Chronically Ill Librarian As a full-time Medical Librarian, it has never not been ironic that the very skills I use to help research patient’s ailments would later be used to research my own. After getting diagnosed with three chronic illnesses in the past five years; my life and career look nothing like what I imagined. Having to come to terms with my limitations has been hard. Each day I grapple with having no control of my body, while trying to stay positive, joyful, and productive. The one thing I have gained in the process is a better understanding of disability and those like me who suffer from it. I have reached out and made connections to others fighting the same fight and have been welcomed into a community I never thought I would be a part of. I feel less alone when being chronically ill can feel isolating. As researchers and doctors continue to look for a cure, I stay hopeful. I forgive my body for not performing in the ways I would like and extend grace to myself daily. My life is slower but no less fulfilling.
Coming out later in life: A Queer and Autistic Story At 33, I came out as pansexual and non-binary. At 35, I am outing myself as a late diagnosis autistic. I am high masking (AKA high functioning – a misnomer,) so it took a long time and autistic friendships to seek a diagnosis and receive the “missing piece” of information that helped me make sense of myself. My entire life I thought everyone was attracted to everyone, and that everyone had to work extra hard to accomplish daily tasks, until I realized the allistic (neurotypical) and straight world where I have been surviving. Now I get to be myself, live my way, and thrive!
Riding out the storm – thriving as a librarian with multiple neurological conditions Learning to manage and live with chronic conditions gives a person a particular perspective on careers and home life. “Read” how the author learned to navigate the health care system and adapted to thrive as a medical librarian and a wife and mother with multiple neurological conditions including epilepsy and dystonia. Add to your diversity, equity and inclusion skills and learn more about epilepsy and how to help your friends, family, and colleagues with chronic conditions in your community.