Tory Hall, Owner & Operator of Sower Books (Interview 30/100)

This one with Tory Hall, Owner & Operator of Sower Books in Lincoln, NE really burrowed into the folds of my brain in a way that makes me stare at my computer screen with all the thoughts and no thoughts at all. It’s the kind of conversation that deserved quiet time for me to process. Each time I thought that I’d wrapped my brain around the reflection, it fell another layer deeper. I was silent with the weight of it after we talked and just when I’d closed my eyes to almost fall asleep that night, a burst of inspiration flooded in. I scrambled to capture it all in the notes app of my phone about the impact that it had on me as a person. That same night after I’d first spoken to Tory, I was mostly focused on how easy it was to talk to her about the realities of life and my own determination to fight depression wave drops with forces of good. When the weight of the darkness settles in, I keep myself from becoming trapped there by making a plan. 

I picture when the ocean waves ebb as the tide goes out and the beach is left to dry out quietly with the remnants of what’s been left to dry up or fight to survive. I will try as hard as I possibly can to do my best to better prepare for the next time and lend a hand to anyone around. What I picture as the ocean tides, might be someone else’s season change. Or buildings crumbling only to be rebuilt. Or roller coaster riding. Or sowing a garden. It’s life. It’s different for everyone. 

Tory’s inclusive bookstore allows for all of these analogies, experiences, and stories to exist under one roof. She offers couches, blankets, foster cats, and community. She offers a chance to see and support those around you. She offers an ability to read another’s story, see into their minds, and consider other perspectives. She allows the space for people like me to ponder my own story and how it fits into the greater story. She offers tolerance, acceptance, inclusion, knowledge, and support. She also offers hope and recognition of the reality of the destruction with the resilience and confidence that we can join together as a whole village to push forward together. The world may burn to the ground. The ruthless tide might indiscriminately suck back into itself. The building may crumble. But we can sow our own seeds of the future to build it into a better place. If we want to. And if we have more Tory’s around. 

That’s where this iteration of reflection has dropped me. It’s different from the scramble from the night after we first spoke that ended up in the notes app. It’s different from the recording of a Between the Interviews episode that was inspired by the late night notes app entry. It’s different from each of the takeaways I tunnel-visioned on when I spoke about it to my own personal village. Catch me tomorrow, next week, or next year and I’ll find a new perspective. And that’s what I’m most thankful for to have come out of this conversation with Tory.

Alright. That’s enough. Let’s go leave this place better than we found it. 

Shout out to: 

• A Room of One's Own in Madison, WI

Bonus shout outs to: 

• Evicted by Matthew Desmond
• The Peach Fuzz
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

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