From Hobby to Lifeline: Rethinking the Power of Reading
At Tsai CITY, our Social Innovation Internship program connects Yale students with organizations using creativity and care to address pressing social challenges. This summer, Maddie Westall (YC ’27) interned with Freedom Reads, a nonprofit that builds libraries in prisons and creates opportunities for incarcerated people to engage with stories, dialogue, and imagination.
In the reflection below, Maddie shares how reading letters from people on the inside reshaped her understanding of education, storytelling, and social innovation—showing her that sometimes, the simplest interventions can be the most transformative.
I used to think I understood the power of books. As a student and a lifelong reader, I always believed stories could teach, inspire, and connect us, but nothing prepared me for the moment I read this line, scribbled on a piece of lined paper, tucked inside a tiny, white envelope.
“Man, if it wasn't because I escape into my books every day, I would have been lost.”
In that one sentence, he revealed everything: books were not merely a hobby; they were a survival mechanism.
This summer, I interned with Freedom Reads, a nonprofit organization that installs handcrafted libraries in prisons to provide meaningful access to books for incarcerated individuals. One of my projects was to transcribe and respond to the hundreds of handwritten letters we received from individuals behind bars. I did not expect this seemingly mundane task to become the most eye-opening part of my internship.
Among the many voices I encountered, one letter, the one that began, “Man, if it wasn’t because I escape into my books every day, I would have been lost”, stopped me in my tracks. It was not dramatic or polished; it was purely honest. The writer described how books helped him escape his bleak, concrete reality and find peace, clarity,and hope.
And he wasn’t alone. Others wrote to request GED prep guides, history books, or personal finance resources. Some asked for books that helped them reflect, escape, or imagine, such as poetry, philosophy, or graphic novels. One man said he wanted books on leadership to build character and take responsibility. Another told us reading helped him keep the days from turning inward.
These letters changed my view of reading from merely a hobby to a lifeline. These were not just letters asking for books. They were letters full of purpose, intention, and resilience. Transcribing them was not glamorous, but it was profound. Each note offered a glimpse into how something as small as a book could ground someone in one of the hardest environments imaginable.
I didn’t expect this internship to change how I see something as familiar as reading. The letters I read showed me that a book can be so much more than a way to pass the time. For people “inside”, reading can be a way to survive, to imagine something beyond their surroundings, or to hold onto a sense of self. I no longer think of books as just a hobby or a pleasure. Now, I understand them as tools to endure, to heal, and to escape. I’ll carry that understanding with me every time I open one.
I still think about that line: “If it wasn't because I escape into my books every day…” That quote still stays with me as a reminder that stories—and the people who fight to keep reading them—carry a kind of hope that endures, even in the most unlikely places.
I am sincerely grateful to the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale for making this experience possible and for supporting work that engaged both my interests and values. This opportunity offered a meaningful way to contribute to a cause I care deeply about and deepened my understanding of the world and my place within it.
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The Social Innovation Internship, a partnership between Tsai CITY and the Yale Club of New Haven, connects New Haven–based entrepreneurial nonprofits, social enterprises, and social change organizations with motivated Yale College students for a summer internship focused on social innovation.
Written by Maddie Westall (YC ’27)