Laura García believes in the healing power of stories. You know – and scientific studies have shown this – that the beauty contained in words has the ability to connect with ourselves in a more intimate way.
Thus, through his workshops proposes books with characters and plots that help to better understand what happens to us, what we feel and combat sadness and other emotions.
“Literature has wonderful properties to accompany us in different situations of our day to day. In fact, books have always been used to heal the soul. In ancient Egypt libraries were called ‘houses of life’. Greeks and Romans they used reading as a medical and spiritual remedy. In the Middle Ages sacred texts were read during operations to help the patient and in World War II they were read to the wounded as a complement to medical treatments,” explains the creator of Booklife, a project in which Laura has been working for years to develop bibliotherapy in our country.
–Can you list some of the healing properties of literature?
–Literature favors empathy and resilience. It increases our vocabulary and therefore facilitates communication. It reduces stress levels because it keeps the mind focused on one point like meditation does. It promotes rest and sleep, decreases the feeling of loneliness because the reader feels accompanied by the story and the characters who interact with him. And, by providing knowledge and wisdom, our freedom to choose and our security are increased.
At the cognitive level, reading activates specific brain areas, stimulates learning and curiosity, increases cognitive reserve, delaying symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Literature provides us with an emotional distance that facilitates the understanding of the process we are experiencing and the emotions derived from it, it orders us from within.
“Reading is a very intimate exercise that connects us with ourselves and allows us to get to know each other a little more.”
Sometimes we don’t know what’s happening to us, we don’t understand what we’re feeling and we’re overwhelmed by the situation until we read a book with characters who are experiencing the same thing as us and then we see everything clearly. Literature talks about life, in it is everything.
–How did the idea of launching the Booklife project come about?
–I have been dedicated to literary communication for years. I am passionate about literature and, above all, being able to explain to others the virtues of books. Books have accompanied and helped me in complex moments of my life. They have been like a refuge to go to and at the same time I have always liked helping others, feeling that I can do something to make them feel better.
A long time ago I read an article about bibliotherapy and suddenly everything clicked. That was what I wanted to do. I began to inform myself and read about it. I made a list with the main emotions and situations we go through in our day to day. For each topic I chose those books that can best accompany us and help us overcome them. In 2019, after almost 10 years of working, I decided to start the «Booklife. Bibliotherapy and literary prescription. Since then I have carried out almost 100 workshops and talks in libraries, schools, health centers, etc. I only work with fiction, but I cover all genres: novels, short stories, theater and poetry, and I address myself to all ages.
–Is there any study that has shown some benefits of this form of soul healing?
–There are many studies that certify the benefits of literature on our well-being. One from the University of Rome showed that regular readers are happier after measuring their well-being on the Veenhoven and Diener scales. Scientists from Emory University (Atlanta) claimed that reading reduces stress and increases emotional intelligence, self-knowledge, empathy and psychosocial development.
Another study from the Complutense University of Galicia on Literapia from 2007 states that reading has great power to improve all kinds of diseases through psychoneuroimmunology because it stimulates a better immune response in patients who read.
“Literature has great benefits for our health and it is possible that more studies will be carried out in the coming years to prove it.”
–How does bibliotherapy work in health centers?
–In 2016 the United Kingdom implemented a pioneering project of collaboration between health centers and libraries so that doctors could prescribe novels and poetry as a complement to patients with emotional problems. Bibliotherapy may be the only treatment in cases of mild psychological illness together with supervision or complementary therapy sessions.
The books also join the pharmacological treatment in health and psychological centers. Bibliotherapy can be implemented in hospitals, day centers, primary care centers or other health centers. At Booklife we have held workshops for nurses, doctors and psychologists and we are working to start a project in prisons. The most important thing is the selection of the works and the work before, during and after the reading.
–Are stories especially important for children to help them grow?
–Stories are a wonderful tool for explaining difficult-to-manage feelings to children. They create an environment conducive to children being more receptive and addressing situations and contain characters that serve as a mirror while entertaining and having fun. They are also very important for young people and adolescents, since in them they can find the answers to their main doubts and fears in such a special and decisive stage for their development.
In child psychology it is very common to use tales and stories to accompany the treatment, there are even publishers such as Editorial Sentir that have specialized in publishing stories that help the little ones in the main situations and feelings of their day to day and that They are written by skilled psychologists. Booklife wants to help professionals and families find the best titles to help our children and young people.
What books have helped or marked you the most?
–In my parents’ house there were always books, my mother loves to read. I remember reading “The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende at the age of 14 and being fascinated by the characters and their natural relationship with the dead.
In high school I had a teacher, Yolanda, who made us read the most important works of universal literature and a great world opened up to me. There I discovered Kafka’s torment, Goethe’s tragic love, social cruelty and its consequences in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and I verified that you can find a book for every moment of your life.
There are many other books with a special meaning in my life like “My Sister Lives on the Mantel” by Annabel Pitcher. This work deeply connected me with childhood suffering or “The summer my mother had green eyes”, by Tatiana Tibuleac and her precious plea to her family forgiveness.
–You have more than 50 topics that you are addressing in your workshops.
–”Booklife” is a project in constant evolution: it grows in topics and in recommended books. The topics that most ask me for the workshops are grief, fear, anguish, resilience, guilt, hope, jealousy, etc.
I have received proposals to address very interesting issues that were not on the list and they have become a success. During the first confinement, a City Council asked me to prepare an online workshop on the importance of rituals in our lives to celebrate its major festival virtually. When at that time we couldn’t celebrate almost any, it was an exciting challenge and we really liked it.
–What books could help us better relate to this health alarm situation that we are experiencing and foster resilience?
–There are many novels that help us understand the power of resilience and are examples of overcoming, classics such as “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker or “The Meaning of Life” by Victor Frank and among the most recent books are find «Wonder», by RJ Palacios or «La trenza», by Laetitia Colombani and incredible biographies such as «Salvaje» by Cheryl Strayed or «Instrumental» by James Rhodes. At “Booklife” we recommend a list of books, but we love that participants mention their own titles to us and thus increase the reading guide.
–And to overcome a loss?
–I like that in the Booklife workshops there are books that reflect all kinds of realities. There are many types of grief and each person experiences it differently. To accompany the mourning for a child “Paula” by Isabel Allende, “Hamnet” by Maggie O’farrell or “The swimmer in the secret sea” by William Kotwinell are wonderful books to understand one of the hardest processes that a person can experience .
To accompany the mourning for the couple, “The Year of Magical Thought” by Joan Didion or “The Ridiculous Idea of Never Seeing You Again” by Rosa Montero describe a very difficult reality with all the emotional details. The death of parents is a process that changes us forever and “This Will Happen Too” by Milena Tusquets or “Con mi madre” by Soledad Puértolas accompanies us in the process. There are so many and they are all wonderful.
Can a book help me improve my love relationships?
–Books accompany us and show us realities that can change our point of view of things. Love and heartbreak novels are an inexhaustible source of experiences that can make us feel better and above all that we learn that someone has gone through the same thing before us. But above all literature makes our self-esteem grow and as a result our personal relationships improve.
–What return do you get from the people who participate in your workshops? Can you tell me an anecdote?
–«Booklife» has been very well received since its creation. I have received many personal messages thanking me for the recommended books and asking for more personalized recommendations.
The health crisis has caused tragic situations at all levels and literature has been a great tool to accompany us in these times of seclusion and loneliness. Technology has allowed me to reach people without leaving home.
I especially remember a message on Instagram from the mother of a school where she had done a workshop on grief for boys and girls. She thanked me excitedly because she had just lost her father and the stories she had…