A Vitamin Called Fiction Consuming Literary Fiction Can be Healing
Namaskar, Y’all by Shyama Parui “Without a thought in her head except Luca, she jumps”. This single line from American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins describes the protagonist’s courage and monumental determination to protect her son Luca’s life. Turning the page frantically, I wanted to know what happens when she jumps on to a moving train in hopes of crossing the Mexican border to reach the United States. Enthralled, I kept reading, oblivious to the clock’s monotonous tick tocks while sinking into the Lydia’s character. I felt my pulse rise each time she came close to being discovered and I heaved a sigh of relief when she narrowly escaped death. Although the character was a product of the writer’s imagination, the novel paints a realistic picture of mothers who surmount the toughest of challenges to save their children. It can also be an eye opener for readers who are either ignorant or indifferent to the perils of migrants. At the very least, such well-crafted tales build empathy in a way lectures and self-help videos don’t. I recently learned about Bibliotherapy, and it confirmed what I believed for a long time, that is, consuming literary fiction can be healing. Like a dose of daily vitamins, immersing yourself in the fictitious lives of characters contributes to your health. While one can intuitively gather that spending time for leisure and enjoying a book is relaxing, there are greater benefits than meet the eye. At a more formal level, psychologists are applying Bibliotherapy in their work. According to Psychology Today, “Bibliotherapy can be applied to patients suffering from anxiety, depression, or other mood disorders; those struggling with trauma or addiction; or those going through grief, a divorce, or other relationshiprelated challenges.” In a nutshell, this involves the therapist assigning books to the patients who read it continued on page 78
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June 2022
