Why Stories Matter
Dear Kindred Spirit,
When I was a kid, my family and I lived a couple blocks from our local library. It had a lovely children’s room tucked in the back, and I walked there multiple times a week.
Sometimes the librarian helped me find books, but most of the time, I wandered the shelves and grabbed whatever caught my eye.
That’s where I discovered books that pulled me into wonder.
There was Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel, which I loved so much it took me years to return it.
There was Mandy by Julie Edwards, with a secret cottage in the woods decorated from floor to ceiling with seashells.
There was A Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L’Engle with dolphins and ESP. (I was probably too young for this one, and I’m not sure if it stands the test of time—but it swept through my 1989 fifth grade class like wildfire.)
I read and read and read.
If I had an identity growing up, it was Reader. I could get so lost in a book that returning to real life felt surreal.
At that time my real life wasn’t so great. I won’t go into the details here, but suffice it to say both my home and school life were not safe, nurturing, or kind.
So for me, the library and reading were a refuge. A sanctuary. I got to disappear into new worlds and learn life lessons that weren’t available to me otherwise. Stories mattered. Deeply. And so I read.
J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote an essay called On Fairy-Stories, where he explains that fairy stories serve three main purposes: recovery, escape, and consolation.
Recovery is about regaining a sense of wonder.
Escape is about finding refuge from the harshest realities of life. Tolkien argued this isn’t a frivolous desire, but a real and necessary one.
Consolation is about experiencing the great hope of a happy ending.
He believed these three things were essential to the human experience—and that fairy stories offer us a place to receive them. They give us space to recover, to escape, and to find consolation. They help us breathe again.
Most people think of reading as a fun hobby—and it is! But the more I reflect on it, the more I see it as something much more profound.
When I sink into a good story it feels like medicine for my heart, mind, and soul. It reminds me of the wonder still alive in the world. It whispers that happy endings are still possible.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, disheartened, or just plain weary, I invite you to pick up a book that feels like sanctuary and add more heart, more breath, and more hope into your life.
—Emma
P.S. If you’d love to read in community with other kindred spirits, I invite you to join Emma’s Reading Room, where we read stories that connect to us to the deeper meaning of our lives—one chapter a week. We start our next book, Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, on September 14!
Hi, I’m Emma Basu. I’m a writer, tarot card reader, and book lover. My soul’s work is to help you find clarity amongst the chaos, meaning in the mundane, and purpose in your life’s winding journey.
Disclaimer: This blog is a resource guide for educational and informational purposes only and should not take the place of hiring a life coach, a therapist, or of seeking medical attention. No information on this blog creates a coach-client relationship between us. You are fully responsible for the decisions and actions you take in regard to your life and affairs.