Nahian, a Bestseller from the Human Library Book Depot in Dhaka, Bangladesh

“Book of the Month” is our series of portraits, of our book collection – from all over the world! With these portraits, we get to bring focus on our amazing books, and show the diversity in our international collection.

March’s Book of the Month is 21-year-old Nahian Bushra, from the Human Library Dhaka, Bangladesh. Nahian has been published under two titles: Visually Impaired Person & A Beam of Hope in the Sea of Darkness. In July, she will have been with the Human Library Dhaka for a full year.

At her readings, the most common questions readers have for her is: “Can you tell us more about your struggle to reach where you are now?” and “Do you have any regrets about this kind of life?”. Through her meetings with the readers, she reckons that the most valuable parts of being a book at the Human Library is:

“… how it preaches compassion so beautifully in the society by bringing out a person for who he/she is; stripped of all labels and stereotypes.”

Her reasons for staying with us, is her experience of how her story has inspired readers. She explains that:
“I want to keep inspiring and keep teaching others to not judge a book by its cover.”

Her reasoning for becoming a book in the first place, was her understanding of how people judged others based on their general appearance and first impression. Despite not having the vision, she could sense this tendency in her surroundings, and proclaims that:

“When they look at me, all they probably see is a visually impaired girl, but they have no idea about my strength, they have no idea about how many hurdles I have overcome to be the person I am today. I wanted to be the beam of hope for the people who are losing to darkness and therefore, I chose to become a Human Book.”

For her, the best reaction from readers are when they acknowledge her struggles, but also when they explain:

“… how I have become an inspiration for them to never think of a disability as a weakness again.”

Acknowledgement and humanity is a crucial part of her involvement with the Human Library. She points out that as technology and digital presence is constantly increasing, we must remember our most human aspect – our ability to love and respect each other. Her message is clear:

“This is the time when we need to stop what we are doing and look at the people around us who we see on a regular basis but fail to understand. Dialogue is important to break the stereotypes and bring people closer to their humanity because that is what will make the society complete. Therefore, it is important to be a part of the Human Library.”

Nahian has just a single advice for all her readers: to live life to the fullest. Her message is that life is a roller coaster – and it is not meant to be smooth – but that life itself is the biggest gift ever. She underlines this, with some clear advice:

“If you are alive, you have all you need to get through the hurdles you face. Your disability can never be a weakness if you don’t allow it to be.”

Nahian keeps on leaving a positive impact on all her readers – and ends by encouraging everyone to follow the Human Library and attend one of our events. This way you can meet hopeful and inspiring individuals – like her – and get back in touch with your humanity, through understanding and human contact. Keep updated on Nahian – and her fellow amazing books from the Human Library Dhaka

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