Authored By Experience is a collaborative book series created to center the voices, insight, and lived expertise of people experiencing homelessness. Rather than speaking about unhoused individuals, this project is intentionally designed to speak with them, recognizing that those living the reality of homelessness are the most credible narrators of their own stories. Over the course of a year, participants are invited to reflect, create, and document their experiences in ways that honor their dignity, creativity, and perspective.

 

Each participant receives a modest financial stipend in recognition of their time, labor, and intellectual contribution. The process is intentionally simple and accessible. Participants are provided with a guided journal developed by Holistically Us, Inc. that includes predetermined, trauma-informed prompts designed to encourage reflection without requiring disclosure of harm. Contributions are entirely self-directed. Participants may choose to write short essays, poetry, reflections, letters, or express themselves through drawings and other creative formats. There are no expectations related to writing level, grammar, or artistic skill. The emphasis is on authenticity rather than polish.

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Over time, selected entries from multiple participants are thoughtfully curated and woven together into a single volume, creating a collective narrative that reflects the depth, diversity, and complexity of unhoused experiences. Each book in the Authored By Experience series is a shared work that challenges stigma, disrupts dominant narratives, and preserves lived knowledge that is too often overlooked or erased. At its core, the series affirms a simple but powerful truth: experience is expertise, and those who live it deserve to be heard, credited, and valued.