Shyama Parui
By Shyama Parui
“Without a thought in her head except Luca, she jumps”.
This single line from American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins describes the protagonist’s courage and monumental determination to protect her son Luca’s life. Turning the page frantically, I wanted to know what happens when she jumps on to a moving train in hopes of crossing the Mexican border to reach the United States. Enthralled, I kept reading, oblivious to the clock’s monotonous tick tocks while sinking into the Lydia’s character. I felt my pulse rise each time she came close to being discovered and I heaved a sigh of relief when she narrowly escaped death. Although the character was a product of the writer’s imagination, the novel paints a realistic picture of mothers who surmount the toughest of challenges to save their children. It can also be an eye opener for readers who are either ignorant or indifferent to the perils of migrants. At the very least, such well-crafted tales build empathy in a way lectures and self-help videos don’t.
I recently learned about Bibliotherapy, and it confirmed what I believed for a long time, that is, consuming literary fiction can be healing. Like a dose of daily vitamins, immersing yourself in the fictitious lives of characters contributes to your health. While one can intuitively gather that spending time for leisure and enjoying a book is relaxing, there are greater benefits than meet the eye. At a more formal level, psychologists are applying Bibliotherapy in their work. According to Psychology Today, “Bibliotherapy can be applied to patients suffering from anxiety, depression, or other mood disorders; those struggling with trauma or addiction; or those going through grief, a divorce, or other relationship-related challenges.” In a nutshell, this involves the therapist assigning books to the patients who read it between sessions. At their sessions, they discuss characters and scenarios relevant to their pertinent issues and explore coping methods.
For me personally, diving into the lives of protagonists, sensing their fears or anguish and cheering at their wins takes me to a world where I can indirectly process my innermost thoughts and feelings too. Right from childhood, the stories we hear give words to tacit emotions and often we find comfort in knowing that we are not alone in our fears or insecurities. My cautious nature perhaps stems from a steady diet of scary fairy tales that my family members fed me.
Hans Christian Anderson and the Grimm Brothers conjured up rather frightening villains that made me wary of strangers and I would never touch candy offered by an unfamiliar face, even with a 10-foot pole. I guess I missed out on some treats, but on the bright side, my wariness saved me from toothaches and emergency visits to the dentist. Upon reading this, my mother and older siblings are probably congratulating themselves on implementing a successful fear tactic. Also, unbeknownst to me, the habit of being a voracious reader since elementary school helped me develop the skills needed for a Counselor. To some degree my reading fine-tuned my ability to be a patient listener, made it easier for me to step into my client’s shoes, and to comprehend their issues without judgment.
The advantages of perusing literary fiction can apply to more people than psychologists and their clients. Life puts us all at crossroads and sometimes a good book can be the tool that activates our inner GPS to guide us in the right direction. And just in case our chosen destination is not as picturesque as the brochure promised, we may need a little paperback novella to make peace with our decisions. For example, the BBC’s series called “Textual Healing”, recommends The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri if you are homesick. As we process the characters and their feelings, it can offer a new point of view or idea to cope with everyday struggles.
In general, getting a variety of perspectives is valuable in understanding those who are different from us, to become more tolerant and to be able to assess others’ emotions. These qualities can be a powerful antidote to the hatred and closed mindedness that one finds in the world of social media. One of the best ways of getting into the habit of reading is participating in a book club. Not only does it provide the opportunity for social interaction and lively discussion, but it also motivates me to pick up a title that I would not have otherwise. This may come as a surprise to some, but Christine Seifert makes “The Case for Reading Fiction” at the workplace in her Harvard Business Review (March 2020) article. She points out benefits such as increased social acuity, sharper ability to assess motivations, open mindedness, and critical thinking. While these are hard to quantify, they are valuable skills for developing leadership.
You may wonder if movies elicit the same reactions from viewers as books do. And although I suspect that there might be some similarities, even the best cinema will have difficulty capturing the subtle contemplations or sentiments of the characters as expressed in words. Lois Lowry, the author of The Giver, explains that a book allows us to absorb the story in a unique and personal way. As a reader we bring our own history, beliefs, and concerns and when we read privately, we create each scene using our own imagination.
In today’s world, where professions in STEM fields are among the highest paid, prowess in language and creative writing should not be undervalued. Expert storytellers may have taught us more than we have given them credit for. Fortunately, book sales in 2021 increased from 2020 by 8.9 percent and according to publishersweekly.com, 825.7 million books were sold in the United States last year. Although I was unable to find parallel statistics for the Indian market, I hope the desire to read books in India rises too. My home country’s diversity, wealth of languages, and wide range of readers makes for a fertile environment to grow present and future writers. Accomplished authors of the past have enriched India’s literary treasury but, in my opinion, we need to nurture the new generations too so that the world does not miss out on what could have been for example, a fascinating fantasy series.
On that note, I am headed to the library to bring home an essential vitamin for the entire family.
Shyama Parui is a long time North Carolina resident and an ardent writer. You can reach her at: shyamashree_parui@hotmail.com
