Today we’d like to introduce you to Princess Williams.
Hi Princess, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Fresno, California, and moved to San Francisco when I was ten years old. I grew up where the Fillmore District meets the Haight-Ashbury District, and later in the Potrero Hill projects. My mother was a single parent, and by the time I was ten or eleven, I was navigating the streets of San Francisco on my own. I experienced chronic exposure to violence, addiction, and instability during my formative years, which profoundly shaped my understanding of safety, resilience, and survival.
Those early experiences shaped the way I see the world. Even as a child, I knew I wanted to change the systems around me. I believed policy, education, and community investment could rewrite stories like mine. That belief led me to pursue a Master’s in Public Administration at California State University, Northridge, where I initially focused on macro-level change. But once I entered the field, I realized I wanted to be closer to the people. I wanted to sit across from them, hear their stories, and walk with them through their hardest moments. That realization led me to earn my Master’s in Social Work at the University of Houston.
In 2021, I relocated from Houston to the Dallas–Fort Worth area, and something unexpected happened I fell in love with South Dallas. It felt like coming home. The spirit of the people, the resilience, and the way the community pours into itself deeply resonated with me. South Dallas reminded me of the neighborhoods that raised me; rich in culture, history, and strength, even in the face of systemic neglect. It reaffirmed my belief in community-led healing and collective care.
Since then, my career has taken me across the lifespan. I have worked with individuals living with serious mental health diagnoses, supported families in early childhood spaces, walked alongside adolescents, and later served older adults. Today, I work in hospice and private practice as a Licensed Master Social Worker, supporting people through grief, trauma, and life transitions.
Last year, I felt called to create something that blended healing, storytelling, and community. Originally, my intention was to serve South Dallas. I wanted to focus my efforts on one community I deeply loved and felt connected to. But once the work began, it became clear that the need was far greater and more widespread than I had imagined. The demand for access to books, to education, to spaces that invite people to slow down and imagine extended beyond one neighborhood.
That realization is what gave shape to Unbound Library: Rooted in Pages a mobile, community lending library that partners with locally owned businesses. At each pop-up, community members can check out books for 30 days and return them to the same location using the tiny libraries I leave behind. I also collaborate with the Dallas Public Library so people can sign up for library cards on the spot.
My journey has always been about returning to communities not as a savior, but as a steward with compassion, with tools, and with stories that remind people they are seen, valued, and worthy of more.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road.One of my parents struggled with addiction, and that shaped the earliest chapters of my life. Growing up in the shadow of substance abuse teaches you things most children should never have to learn about survival, loss, unpredictability, and resilience. Those experiences can break you, or they can build you. For me, they built me. They helped me understand what I did not want for my life and gave me clarity about what I did want. I’ve witnessed a lot, but nothing changed me the way my brother’s murder did in 2022 in Los Angeles. That loss is an elephant in the room I carry with me every day. It cracked something open inside me but it also lifted a veil. It forced me to confront how fragile life truly is and how quickly everything can change. After that, fear loosened its grip on me. His death sharpened my sense of purpose. It made me bolder, more intentional, and more willing to go after the life I imagined. That fearlessness is what fuels my ambition today. I create. I build. I try. I take risks. And that is exactly how Unbound Library came to life. I knew I wanted to give something meaningful back to the world. Even if I had to start with my own books, I would have done it. Instead, I began hosting community book donation drives and taking those books directly into neighborhoods. I bring stories where they’re needed most. That is my love language sharing education, knowledge, and imagination so others can dream beyond what they’ve known. Books never let me down. They saved me. They expanded my world when my circumstances tried to shrink it. And I want others to experience that same freedom. When people experience trauma, it often damages their imagination. Books help restore it. They remind us that life can be different, that possibilities exist. We hear all the time that “the sky is the limit,” but it all begins with the ability to read. And when people can imagine better lives, they can begin to build them. So no the road hasn’t been easy. But I created my own road. And even with the rocks and potholes, it has been beautiful.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work lives at the intersection of life, loss, healing, and imagination.I am a Licensed Master Social Worker, a certified death doula, certified birthing doula, and a grief- and trauma-informed practitioner. I work in hospice, private practice, and community spaces, supporting people across the full spectrum of the human experience from birth to death, and everything in between. What sets my work apart is that I do not treat mental health as a single moment or diagnosis I see it as a lifelong relationship with ourselves. I specialize in emotional transitions: grief, trauma, burnout, identity shifts, caregiver fatigue, and life after loss. I provide psychoeducation, emotional support, and space for people to breathe again when the world has demanded too much from them. Over time, I noticed a common theme: people are exhausted. Spiritually. Emotionally. Mentally. Many are moving through life on autopilot disconnected, overwhelmed, and unsure how they got so far from themselves. That realization led me to begin focusing on burnout, compassion fatigue, and nervous system healing, especially for those who spend their lives caring for others.That same mission is what gave birth to Unbound Library: Rooted in Pages. Unbound Library is a mobile, community lending library that partners with locally owned businesses to bring free access to books directly into neighborhoods. People can check out books for 30 days and return them to the same location using the tiny libraries I leave behind. I also collaborate with the Dallas Public Library so community members can sign up for library cards at our pop-ups. But Unbound is more than books.It is a mental health initiative. It is a nervous system reset. It is an invitation to slow down, imagine again, and reconnect with yourself.
Books were my first therapists. They expanded my world when my circumstances were small. They helped me survive, dream, and heal. Now I use them as a bridge connecting community, literacy, and emotional wellness in a way that feels human, accessible, and rooted in love. What I am most proud of is that my brand reflects my full self: clinical, creative, grounded, and compassionate. Everything I do whether in hospice rooms, therapy sessions, or community pop-ups. honors the same truth:Healing is a lifelong story.And everyone deserves access to the pages that help them write their own.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Books are my greatest teachers. I truly believe that every time I open one, I’m holding a tool, something I can apply to my life, my healing, and my clinical practice. I gravitate toward books centered on social change, mental and emotional health, grief, and liberation. These are the stories that have shaped me and continue to guide my work. Anything written by bell hooks is life changing. Her words have taught me how to love, how to build community, and how to hold truth with compassion. Some of my favorites include Teaching Community, Salvation, All About Love, and Killing Rage. During the first year after my brother’s death, “Bearing the Unbearable” helped me survive. I often recommend “What Happened to You?” to clients who are working through trauma, it shifts the lens from “what’s wrong with me” to “what happened to me,” which is incredibly powerful. For emerging social workers and community leaders, I frequently suggest “Becoming an Abolitionist”. One of the first books I read in social work school that helped me recognize my own trauma was “Bird Uncaged.”
Other titles that have deeply influenced me include:
When Things Fall Apart
Trauma Stewardship
Sacred Rest
White Fragility
Between the World and Me
The Color of Law
The Myth of Normal
If you’re willing to stay consistent and commit to your growth, these books will change the way you see yourself, your community, and the world. They remind us that we are deeply connected and that we are our brother’s keepers. What happens to our neighbors eventually touches us, too. That’s why we take care of each other. And that’s why I do this work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://unboundlibrary.net/rooted
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unbound_li_brary/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/princess-j-2a4a0145
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@unboundrootsandpages?_r=1&_t=ZP-93XBU00Y2oA
