After the death of her infant daughter, Amanda A. Adams, of South Hadley, channeled her grief into finding ways to create a legacy in her daughter’s honor through acts of kindness: a Little Free Library was one of the ways she thought of to help her community.
She filled an out-of-rotation newspaper dispenser first with children’s books that reminded her of her daughter, Nora, like “Love You Forever,” which was read as her eulogy. Adults now too occasionally put their books into the decorated dispenser at McCray’s Farm in South Hadley.
The basic idea of Little Free Libraries, which have popped up in many places, is for people to take a book, leave a book or both. “It’s a great way for the community to share books with each other and also keeps people from throwing books away because they’re finished with them and unsure what else to do,” Adams said.
Her daughter, Nora, was 38 weeks gestation when it was discovered at a routine ultrasound that she no longer had a heartbeat. “We later discovered it was because of a cord accident, which is such a random and unpreventable thing,” Adams said.
Nora was born on New Year’s Eve in 2019. She has an older sister, Brynn, and since Nora died, the family has welcomed brother Nolan and sister Lillian. “It’s always been important to me not only that my kids know and talk about (Nora), but that my family and even community know about our family as four children, not just the three you see and that it is okay to talk about pregnancy and child loss,” Adams said.
She used an out-of-rotation newspaper dispenser for the little library, seeing it as a great way to make sure the books were protected from the weather. Also, “it upcycled something that otherwise would have been trash, and it saved money versus buying wood and creating something from scratch,” she said.
Amanda Adams adds some new books to Nora’s Free LIttle Library at McCray’s Farm in South Hadley. (Don Treeger / The Republican) The Republican
The response has been “fantastic,” she said. “I still keep an eye open on free groups, like Buy Nothing on Facebook, for when people are giving books away so I can stock it up from time to time.”
During peak seasons, the little library can empty quickly; it is rewarding for Adams to see and know people are using it.
She keeps a box of books handy so she can make sure it doesn’t stay empty for long. “It’s been at McCray’s for about three years now, so people come prepared with books to swap and look forward to seeing what treasures they can find,” Adams said.
Born and raised in South Hadley, she is married to Brandon and has a master’s degree in social work. A therapist at James Levine and Associates in South Hadley, she also co-facilitates support groups and volunteers with Empty Arms Bereavement Support, a local nonprofit that supports families going through pregnancy and infant loss.
She enjoys reading and spends time reading to her children. “It’s a great way to just spend time together bonding and be close to each other. It’s great for developing children’s language skills and, later on, learning to read,” she said. “It’s also so much fun for me as a parent to see what parts of the books they notice: the funny things going on in the pictures, the way they memorize the parts they like the most or with the silliest words, and even details that we miss as adults because we are focused on just the words.”
Adams would like to place another Little Free Library, perhaps at Carey’s Flowers across from South Hadley High School. She would like to use another newspaper box but is open to ideas for other receptacles. She is considering building one, “although I would have to work on my woodworking abilities first,” she said. “I’d love to be able to upcycle something again.”
For more information, go to littlefreelibrary.org.
