The Novel Therapy

The Novel Therapy

Books are my saviours, therapists, friends, mentors and break from reality. They are there for me when I’m at my lowest, they drag me out of the dungeons, metaphorically, that I lock myself in. I am who I am today solely because of the books I have read. Books mean the world to me. Most people look up to people of importance, I look up to books that have taught me more than anyone I know.

When I’m feeling low, just sitting near my window sill with a cup of hot chocolate in my hand and a book to keep me company can improve my mood. The drink fills me with warmth while the book reminds me that after every dark night comes a bright sunny day – not exactly an upside for people living in the deserts. They show me that sulking and self-pitying will not help me, and that the first step of climbing out of a well is to decide that you can do it. And so, I believe, books are my saviours and my therapists.

Every book I read, influences me in a different way, just as the people we meet influence us in different ways. It can be understood as every book has a separate personality that contains a little bit of the author. For instance biographies tell you how the author or the protagonist lived his or her life; and just like how people borrow character traits from their friends or people they meet, I pick them up from the different books I read. Books in a way are my friends, because they are always with me, no matter what.

When you ask someone who their role model is, their response normally would be of a living, breathing person or a dead-used-to-be-a-living-breathing person. On the other hand my responses are generally constituent of people who only exist in the pages of books. To me, these people are the ideal people who are looked up and revered by me.

Authors have a knack to bring people to life, and they do so brilliantly. The hero isn’t always essentially the symbol of goodness but within him, also lies a dark side, just like every other person; and the decision of choosing what is right over what is easy is what makes these characters so lovable and the perfect role model.

People often underestimate the power of books. But great writers have often quoted about books and their loyalty, friendship and most importantly, their immortality. People come, people go. These people may be friends, family, anyone. In the end, we are nothing but lonely creatures. But books never die, they never leave our side. All we have to do is, believe in the power of these fickle-looking sheets bound by a cover.

We are living in a generation that is too fast for some of us. I often feel like I need an alternate universe where everything is at peace and life is not such a blur. Obviously, this dream will be a dream until someone does find Pandora, but until then, I have books. I always do. And I always will. And so, I believe in “The Novel Therapy”.