Bringing people together to read aloud and discuss literary fiction has supported people of all ages, backgrounds, and life circumstances. In public libraries, workplaces, shelters, cafes, prisons, senior care homes, community centres, on video calls and more, shared reading has enriched people’s sense of inclusion, connection, and wellbeing. Providing space for readers to explore and share their views on dimensions of human experience holds significant wellbeing potential. A growing body of research reveals how participation in shared reading is especially promising for groups of people who are often socially marginalized.
Through collaborations with healthcare settings, shared reading programs have supported people with dementia, chronic pain, cancer, addictions, and mental health challenges. Participation in shared reading is linked to increased vitality and energy, improved function in those with chronic pain, and reduced severity of depression symptoms. Prompted by the language, characters, or events in the text, and the reflections from other group members, some participants living with dementia experience recollection of memories that are otherwise hard to locate and discuss. Those working with or caring for people living with dementia or mental illness have expressed gratitude for shared reading’s capacity to inspire moments of “presentness” in their loved ones who had become more passive and emotionally remote.
Shared reading groups offered within the criminal (in)justice system offer a safe space for those incarcerated to deliberate and connect in unaccustomed ways. Participants report a restoration of positive self identity and connection with others as well as a renewed ability to imagine present and future alternatives. Shared reading facilitators remind participants that there is no ‘right answer’ and set the expectation that varying and contradictory viewpoints are welcomed and expected. Participants test their personal responses against those of others. This nurtures their flexibility in thought processes and their capacity to make sense of oneself and others, resulting in improved wellbeing.
The act of reading aloud in an informal, voluntary group setting gives access to literature to those who may not have it in their lives otherwise. In shared reading, there is no pressure to read or talk, the texts are read slowly, and everyone’s perspective is of equal value. This allows those who experience difficulties with literacy, have challenges with concentration, or have always felt that ‘serious literature’ is elitist or difficult to meaningfully participate. Together, group members build a rich interpretation of the story or poem and a strengthened connection between one another.
