In a modest storefront in downtown Northville, behind an ordinary door, you’ll find a woman doing some extraordinary work: Nicole Jackson.

Nicole runs a small bookstore called “As The Page Turns.” One look at the writing on the wall in the store tells you what this place is all about: “Open a book, open a mind.”

“Books open minds and provide possibilities to children, and to others,” she says.

Others, like broken families in southeast Michigan. Nicole is trying to provide as much comfort as she can to women and children in shelters, one book at a time. She gets people to donate used books, and then delivers them to two shelters, Safe House in Washtenaw County and First Step in Wayne County.

This Mechanical Engineering grad turned bookstore owner says she especially likes helping victims of domestic violence because they have no other chance.

“(We also like the fact that) not everyone has the opportunity to buy books, so why not take books people have, recycle them, and give them to folks who might not be in the best situation to buy books?” Nicole says.

To understand her motivation, Nicole takes me back to her past. Those years are where this story really began.

“My parents showed (me) that education was important by giving good examples” she says. “They attended all our PTA meetings, extracurricular activities and ceremonies. If there was an event that their daughter was in, my parents were there. So they’re love and support was critical for me to go to the next level.”

Nicole succeeded as an honor student in high school and college. And now she’s pointing people in the right direction with her bookstore. She thinks of the store as a tool for helping people. And that, says Nicole, is what keeps her going and giving.

“I think each time someone reads a book, they are exposed to one other possibility they may not have considered before,” she said.

One woman who’s helping others by showing books as a road to the heart and mind.*

You can help women and children in Detroit area shelters by dropping off used books at
As The Page Turns at 149 N. Center St., Suite 102, Northville, at the corner of Center and Dunlap. Call (248) 912-0085 for more information.