Culture
How Writing Down Stories Brings Strangers Together
The Strangers Project makes city residents a little more connected, one handwritten page at a time.
In 2009, Brandon Doman was sitting in a café in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He had a notebook on him, but no real plans for the day. As he watched people pass in and out of the shop, he wondered what he could do to get a few people to stop for a moment, and share something about their lives.
He grabbed a marker, wrote “Hi there! Please stop and share your story!” on a page in his notebook, propped it up on the table, and waited. Minutes passed. Two women came up and asked him what he was doing.