Thoughts & Things

Reading as Medicine

I have been struggling a lot lately with my health, and one of the things that I can best do while so unwell is read. I don't have to be upright, which means I get a lot of relief from the lightheaded feeling and the nausea that has been plaguing me lately. I can lie down in my bed with a book and escape.

Being chronically ill can be incredibly challenging. I can't do all the things I want to do. I can't even do things I used to excel at. If I put myself in just the right circumstances though, I can read. Sometimes I am too sick to read. The brain fog makes it nearly impossible. Ultimately though, if I take care of myself just right, I can read in bed.

The best thing about books is that I can escape into them. Whether they are very true to my struggles and serve as a catharsis, whether they offer me problems other than my own to consider, whether they offer me complete escape from anything resembling reality, I know that books are there for me. I know that even on days where it's hard to breathe or it hurts to walk, books are still there.

Books are like an ever present best friend that knows exactly what you need, and how to take care of you. When it can be hard to feel at home in my own body, I know that I can feel at home in my books. Books are home. Books are vacation. Books are everything I need, and sometimes they are things I didn't even know I needed.

So lately I have been binge reading. I have towering stacks checked out of the library, as well as books I own but haven't gotten to yet. In a world filled with pain and suffering, in my life filled with pain and suffering, books are here. Reading is the medicine that gives me the most solace. Even when I am bedridden, I know books are there to take care of me.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day One Hundred. Nine days of leave taken total. This will be my final post for the Give It 100 Challenge.)