The Book Project: To You, The Founder

I previously mentioned from this concept. When I run I often enter a different part of my mind. I compare it to an active meditation, where body and mind are unified becoming one. That is where the idea for this project came to me

Before I explain the project there are a few things you first need to know about me first. Emotionally I've come a long way from the person you see and speak to today. I tend to be closed off and extremely hard to get to know on an emotional level. I’ve been working extremely hard to break these walls I’ve for year built around my heart. I’m consciously trying to break the habits of always hiding my emotions, holding back, and never being vulnerable. I still value my privacy and don’t let just anyone in.

I am still am someone who finds it difficult to naturally make eye contact with strangers naturally. I generally have to make a conscious effort to not look away.

I don’t think I am this way naturally, I think I had a past that lead me out of fear, to create these towering, thick, impenetrable walls. Despite all of this, there is nothing I love more than deep, personal, soul-revealing conversations.

This is where the project begins:

I look around on the subway and everyone is absorbed in their own personal worlds. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology. I love the way it opens up the world and allows me to connect with people I would have never had the opportunity to connect with otherwise. However, sometimes I feel as if the people I’ve had conversations with through social media connect with me on a deeper level then in person. Perhaps there is less fear opening up when you are not exactly face to face with someone. As a result of this I think I have been feeling rather disconnected.

I long for deep conversations; I want to reveal my soul.

I want to connect

I think my underlying feeling of disconnect is what lead me to this idea. To me, when you are getting to know someone, the connection happens as you each reveal parts of your past, tiny parts of what made you who you are. The building blocks of your soul

You reveal the stories of your soul

Books and stories have always had significant influence in my life. Growing up, I was constantly reading. It is still one of my favourite things to do. I often feel as if the stories communicate my own emotions or thoughts better than I ever could. There often fictional characters to whom I feel more connected than any living being. There are books that mark certain points in my life; that had great influence on me.

I want to share those stories, both the ones contained in the book and those of my own personal journey.

That is the project!

The Books:

I have narrowed it down to my five favourite books, those books I feel had the most influence on me or speak to a significant moment in my life.

I want to share these stories and those of my soul with complete strangers. I am going to leave these five books in public areas across the city, for anyone to find.The places I leave each book will relate to that particular work in some way.

These are the five books that hold a deep significance to me and my life story

Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird
Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden
J.K Rowling: Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone (to represent full series)
Marya Hornbacer: Wasted
Geroge Orwell: 1984

The Letters:

Inside each book will be a letter. That letter will share my story: Why this book is so important to me and who I am. I will highlight my favourite quotes and share the lessons it taught me. In the letter I will also ask the person who discovers the book to do the same, to pass on a book that influenced and reveals who they are to a stranger.

To you From The Founder,

Hello, my name is Megan I am so happy you found this book, perhaps it was meant to be. Books and stories have always had significant influence in my life. Growing up, I was constantly reading. It is still one of my favourite things to do. I often feel as if the stories communicate my own emotions or thoughts better than I ever could. There often fictional characters to whom I feel more connected than any living being. There are books that mark certain points in my life; that had great influence on me. Lately I feel like we are very disconnected from one another. No one shares their stories or their life without curating it to portray a certain aesthetic first. I want to connect. I want to share stores and reveal my soul.

There are books that mark a certain point in my life, and this is one of them. I’ve left 5 books around the city that have had a great influence on who I am today. Each of the books also contains a letter sharing a story explaining why this book is significant.

I do this in the hope of connecting, as well as in the hope that you may do the same. I hope that you read the book and find something as valuable as I did, and pass it on.

**story here**

Some of these books contain letters that are a bit more personal, stories a bit more raw, more vulnerable. Some even contain truths and stories that have never been shared, that have just lived in my mind and journals.

The Reason:

I love deep late night conversations that go on for hours. But I want to try to connect with others in a different way. I want to replicate that late night conversation with a stranger. I wanted to recreate the intimacy of the face-to-face conversation. To me reading is a wholly intimate activity.

We are in a world where so many are willing to share the superficial values and glamorous aspects of their lives. We live in a time where more people are willing to expose and share their naked bodies rather than their naked souls, a time where we carefully curate what we reveal to the world, often hiding our imperfections.

I want to do something different.

I want to share my parts of my past, my heart and my soul with strangers.

Where there is a constant focus on the falsified beauty of perfection I want to share my imperfections. Bearing your soul can be ugly.

Mahoney

ॐ

I will update the post with photos of the books once they have been left in public :)