Values

Libre’s mission is to maintain an archival platform for individuals impacted by neurodivergence and mental illness to define their own lived experience on their own terms; and, to highlight innovative literature that achieves uncommon effect or insight through uncommon use of language.

VISION:

A society that affirms the realities of neurodivergence and mental illness instead of stigmatizing them;

A healthcare system that respects patient autonomy instead of using violence or coercion as part of treatment;

A politics that recognizes the historical relationship between mental healthcare practice and supremacist ideologies of dehumanization and division, and works to combat those ideologies instead of reproduce them;

A science that remains open to discovery instead of insisting on unproven, subjective, or prejudiced theories of mind and body;

A literary community that is inclusive for the marginalized, accountable for mistakes, open to nuance, and closed to hatred.

VALUES:

Libre values the right of every human being to live and to share their stories without suffering violence, oppression, or discrimination.

Libre recognizes that neurodivergence and mental illness exist alongside other intersectional identities, such as race, class, sex, and gender, and that the multiply marginalized are also most likely to experience systemic mistreatment: inferior or even malignant mental health care, political violence, institutionalization or loss of autonomy, and targeting for programs of eugenics.

Libre categorically rejects contemporary ideologies and movements of hate and ignorance, including white supremacism, that work to deny adequate care, basic empathy, and equal political participation at any and all points among these intersecting lines of identity.