Reading to Heal

Here’s a passage from a book I wrote many years ago,  Reading to Heal:  How to Use Bibliotherapy to Improve Your life:

I have said before, but it bears repeating.  If you have been reading to heal but feel you are making little progress, the problem may not lie with you or the books you are reading.  Maybe, you are not quite ready to heal.  And if you are not ready… you are not ready.  Don’t despair.  Give yourself credit and a hug for acknowledging your wounds.  This giant step toward growth and developement takes lots of faith and courage.

If you can’t appreciate the significance of acknowledging your pain think of the countless other options you have.  You could completely ignore it, bury the hurt deep insde you or simply pretend you don’t feel the pain.  But instead of selecting options that will only make matters worse, you have decided to endure the sometimes painful process of reading to heal.  And for doing so, you deserve admiration, respect, encouragement and applause.

Don’t allow anyone — including that annoying voice in your head that is telling you you’re wasting time by reading to heal — to convince you otherwise.

During a particularly difficult period in my life, I was sitting at my kitchen table formulating a reading plan that I hoped would provide comfort and help me stay encouraged.  My husband, who is usually very supportive but who obviously thought dinner, not books, should adorn the table, asked, “What kind of miracle do you expect will happen as a result of reading those books?”  I say to you what I say to him, “Reading is the miracle!”

So, no matter how long it takes for you to grow or heal, just keep reading and believing.  One day you will open the right book at the right time, and it will change your life.

Encouragement Always.