“I Have Served to Tell”: A Qualitative Study of Veterans’ Reactions on Participating in a Living Library Project

Abstract

Since the Vietnam War, storytelling has emerged as a viable intervention for war veterans seeking treatment for PTSD, depression, and other adjustment issues. To procure its benefits, however, storytelling must happen in a safe environment with trusted listeners. This article considers a yet-unexplored venue for veterans to share their stories—the Living Library. Individual interviews of six participants in a 2019 Living Library event hosted by a mid-sized Midwestern university commemorating Memorial Day cultivated four themes: (1) negative experiences of telling their stories before the event; (2) utilitarian motives for sharing at the Living Library event; (3) perceived advantages/benefits of participation in the event; and (4) clear “next steps” they shared regarding their post-Living Library narratives. The authors found that veterans used the Living Library to work through previous discomfort in sharing their narratives in ways that forged bonds between civilian and veterans, allowed them to become more comfortable with their military identities, and mitigated negative psychological symptoms related to being deployed.

Keywords

• storytelling
• mental health
• living library
• military student affairs