Reading as Escape and Relief

by Linda Rodriguez


Like many people, I wake in the morning
dreading the new horrors the day will bring us from Washington, DC.
Last week, I actually had to go to DC for a conference, and while
there, I picked up some nasty respiratory bug. So I’m home now, in
pain, exhausted, and weak from the long drive to DC and back, as well
as the strains of getting around a massive conference in a huge and
inaccessible conference center, and miserable with fever, coughing,
and inability to breathe. I’m in no shape to read about more outrages
against the Constitution and our entire democratic system. So I’ve
been turning away from the media and all news.

Instead I’ve picked up a novel on my
tottering TBR pile and spent the day pampering myself while I read
that book. For a span of hours, I lived in another reality
altogether, one as grim in some ways but with amazing adventures and
fascinating backgrounds that took me completely out of my
sinus-infected, exhausted, and in-considerable-pain self and the
democracy-under-attack world we’re living in at present. For that
span of hours, I found relief from pain, illness, and the depression
that Cheeto Hitler’s accession to power has brought to the entire
civilized world.

I think we tend to forget that novels
can offer a kind of medicine to us, a remedy for the unpleasantness
and despair of politics and welcome relief from pain and sickness. We
often hear genre novels dismissed with the term, “mere escape.”
But there’s nothing mere about escape when it lifts you out of
overwhelming grief or unbearable pain or the miseries of acute and
chronic illnesses. At such times, escape can be a true lifesaver,
allowing rest and healing to take place when both had seemed
impossible.

So I don’t want to hear any more cracks
about the escapism of genre novels. Escape in times of trouble, even
temporary escape, can truly be just what’s needed. If my novels
provide someone with a few hours’ escape from great pain or fear or
grief or stress, I will be happy to have provided those hours of
relief to my readers.

8 replies
  1. Storyteller Mary
    Storyteller Mary says:

    Oh yes, escape and hope, as characters fight and prevail against all odds, we can strengthen our own resolve. I've discovered storyteller Joseph Bruchac's YA books recently — fighting for good is very heartening. Sending Healing Light and hugs. <3
    “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”
    ― G.K. Chesterton

  2. Margaret S. Hamilton
    Margaret S. Hamilton says:

    Sending healing thoughts your way. I'm reading Into the Lion's Mouth: The true story of Dusko Popov, World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond.

  3. C. T. Collier
    C. T. Collier says:

    Agreed, Linda . . . there's nothing like a good book to carry me away in times of illness or trouble. Wonderful post!

  4. Maureen Harrington
    Maureen Harrington says:

    The human brain is designed for living in the reality of fictional contemplation. It's necessary to survival. Without this ability we could not, plan, review, or work though problems purposefully. And if we don't do it consciously, the brain has provided us with dreams during sleep. Fiction is good for us.

Comments are closed.