I was often accused of escapism by the same adults who were intimidated by my knowledge of history, nations, inventions, scholars, and scientists. still happens occasionally. But not my parents. It has been a deep family bond shared across generations. They saw books as a pathway to a great big world. We were too poor to travel other than camping here and there but their love for reading and talking about stories made us succeed- even more than their emphasis on education! I don’t care if you read or not but don’t ever judge me as escaping reality. I learned about thousands of realities beyond my own very lower white middle class life as a child and that was a gift that changed our lives.
Stories are a translation of reality, not an escape, and whether they speak to you or not depends on if you can share a common language with the author.
I'm sure you didn't imagine the sniff! I love that you wrote, "we are escaping into larger truths". I feel that almost all stories teach us something about our world or ourselves. That they help us decide the type of people we want to become, and the way we want to act. They also help us develop empathy and better understanding of others that are different than us. I, too, hope that the girl is bolstered by a deep, interior seeking. Well said!
I finished your book and loved it. Although, it should come with a packet of tissues for those of us who easily cry. I recommended it to my friend who grew up in Wisconsin and now lives in Holmen. I think she'll love it too.
I was often accused of escapism by the same adults who were intimidated by my knowledge of history, nations, inventions, scholars, and scientists. still happens occasionally. But not my parents. It has been a deep family bond shared across generations. They saw books as a pathway to a great big world. We were too poor to travel other than camping here and there but their love for reading and talking about stories made us succeed- even more than their emphasis on education! I don’t care if you read or not but don’t ever judge me as escaping reality. I learned about thousands of realities beyond my own very lower white middle class life as a child and that was a gift that changed our lives.
Stories are a translation of reality, not an escape, and whether they speak to you or not depends on if you can share a common language with the author.
I'm sure you didn't imagine the sniff! I love that you wrote, "we are escaping into larger truths". I feel that almost all stories teach us something about our world or ourselves. That they help us decide the type of people we want to become, and the way we want to act. They also help us develop empathy and better understanding of others that are different than us. I, too, hope that the girl is bolstered by a deep, interior seeking. Well said!
I finished your book and loved it. Although, it should come with a packet of tissues for those of us who easily cry. I recommended it to my friend who grew up in Wisconsin and now lives in Holmen. I think she'll love it too.