After learning about the “The Human Library” project in Denmark by chance, Le Hai Yen, a Vietnamese woman born in the 1980s, cherishes her desire to build a similar library format in Vietnam.

The library brings people together and lets them listen to life stories, meaning it allows library-goers to borrow people instead of books.

Yen and her partners have implemented the “Human-borrowing library” project for nearly two years in an online manner to enable many people anywhere to join it.

“During my long journey of looking for ways to change myself, I realize my scar makes me unique. Everyone is unique, so judgment on or comparison with someone is nonsense,” said Le Hai Yen.

People have their own “scars”

The majority of volunteers selected as a ‘human book’ to tell their life stories are facing different challenges and hardships.

Many were victims of prejudice, but have overcome it to enjoy life.

“People chosen as a ‘human book’ are not necessarily successful ones. I always encourage those who are suffering discrimination, losses and difficulties to speak out and express their opinions as their stories are worth listening to,” Hai Yen said.

As such, the storytellers at her library used to be victims of sexual abuse and depression or are the members of the LGBT community, or experienced the loss of loved ones.

They all have their own scars, or life stories.

Yen is also a “human book” in this project. Her story is about a life lesson in denying herself for a long time until she learned how to love her weaknesses.

In the past, Yen hated herself, especially her appearance, due to a scar left on her face after a fall. She always wanted to earn a lot of money to surgically remove the ugly scar.

Due to the failure of the surgery, the scar was clearly visible.

“The lesson I could draw from the unfortunate experience is why we must follow the standard of beauty set by society to deny our weaknesses.”

“My ‘Human-borrowing library’ project is aimed at connecting people suffering past hurts and losses and encouraging them to open their hearts and share their own valuable life stories to learn how to love themselves.”

A convergent venue for same fate

On Zoom, a video conferencing platform, the “Human-borrowing library” is open from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, featuring two virtual reading sessions that last for 30-35 minutes each.

Hai Yen always delivers her opening speech with the introduction of the reason for the establishment of the library and sends a message “Let’s listen and Don’t judge” to participants.

People who come to act as a “human book” are required to turn on their webcam during their session.

Many have brought their stories, in which they changed their job as an HR employee or bank worker into a painter despite the strong opposition from their family members, to the online library.

Some audiences felt the stories, while several faced the same fate. Therefore, Hai Yen calls it the convergence of pieces at the special library.

“Someone is a cancer patient. She came to the library and accidentally met with a storyteller who lost a loved one due to the disease.

"Through a heart-to-heart with the storyteller, or ‘human book’, the audience would be relieved and unworried,” Hai Yen recounted.

Vo Thi Phuong Lan, who lives in New York, the United States, and is an audience member of the project, said that she “borrowed” a book named “loss” at the library.

“The book centered on the grief suffered by a daughter over the death of her cancer-stricken mother. And this story made me know why my daughter was sometimes in a bad mood and asked me how come I got such an incurable disease,” said Lan.

On one of her trips back to Vietnam to visit her relatives, Phuong Lan knew of the “Human-borrowing library” project and joined it in both roles as a “reader” and a “book”.

“I do like listening to life stories, and this is also a new way for me to “read” books. Being a cancer patient and luckily receiving treatment, I hope to share my own story about the feelings and psychological changes of a cancer-hit patient, apart from the worry for relatives and family members,” said Lan.

Among people joining the “Human-borrowing library”, few leave after the program ends.

Their pleasure is taking back the words of encouragement and thank-you from participants, said Yen.

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