A ‘reawakening’ through reading – Jack’s Story

Our annual AGM is coming up next week, and we're looking forward to celebrating a year of achievements with some of our group members from across the country. Many of our group members have gone on to extend their experiences with us past going to a shared reading group regularly, including taking up volunteering opportunities, and it is these often life-changing stories that we celebrate all year through.

Jack came to one of our shared reading groups in a rehabiliation facility on Merseyside, and has since gone on to become a volunteer on our Merseyside Big Lottery Reader Scheme and as part of our Connect at Calderstones programme.

When meeting with us, Jack revealed a life of turmoil prior to joining the shared reading group.

"Before I came to the house I was an amphetamine addict for 20 years and an alcoholic on top…so before the group my life was a mess – a total mess. I lost access to my kids, and I had an active social life but it was all centered around drugs."

Jack was always an engaged and insightful member of the group, but found it hard at times to accept and listen to other people's points of view, often becoming defensive or slightly confrontational when there was a difference in perspective. During review, Jack reflected on positive changes he had noted in himself:

"Going to one of these reading groups can only be a benefit, even if you come away with it raging about someone else’s opinion or disagreeing with them, at least you’ve engaged with someone else – you have heard someone else’s opinion. But I’ve found that 99% of the time those opinions are usually worth listening to. I have got better at taking things on board and empathising with people rather than rubbishing their opinion. To see both sides of an argument a bit better, to consider other people’s feelings bit more."

Jack went on to describe his experience at The Reader as ‘reawakening’ something inside of him:

"It’s more re-awoken things that have been dormant, because you get so used to shutting off the intellectual side of your brain down when you’re in addiction…It’s re-awoken the fact that nowadays nice people might want to know me, whereas 6 months ago, they would’ve taken one look at me and jogged on. It’s re-awoken a sense of self confidence, self-esteem, that I don’t know of many things that would’ve done the same to be honest…

I don’t know about any actual changes in me, rather, reawakening things in me that were there in the first place that had just been suppressed, and now, I’ve been able to exercise and reawaken things inside me, that I suppose I thought were lost, because you do just lose faith in your own abilities, and hope that anything will ever get better. It made me realize that I can connect with other people through something as simple as a book, a story. There’s that real human contact element of it."

Since successfully completing his rehabilitation programme, Jack has moved back to Sheffield. We have since put Jack in touch with our Sheffield Reader-in-Residence so he can continue his journey with us.

The Reader's Annual Report 2014/15 will be published next week to coincide with our AGM, featuring more of our group members' stories.