My Life in Books

I thought I'd share something I wrote for my writer's group

My Life in Books

I remember being 4 years old,
the letter 'S' beyond my capabilities,
struggling to make myself understood.
I remember teachers concerns as I
made those first tentative steps into the
world of literature, struggling to get my tongue around unfamiliar shapes on the page.

I remember bold illustrations and simple sentences as week after week
therapists plied me with books.
My homework, to read out loud, to practice speaking like everyone else and the frustration when I couldn't manage it.

I remember that being the spark that ignited the fire.

No longer frustrated and misunderstood
I devoured texts, racing through Ginn readers,
level after level passing through my hands
until at 9, my teacher decided I could choose for myself.

New worlds opened up to me.
I visited Narnia, toured the chocolate factory with Charlie and went on adventures with
the Famous Five.
I solved mysteries with Nancy Drew and
eased into horror with R.L. Stine
before moving onto the master himself.

14 saw me waiting impatiently to see if a
group of children could defeat the evil
terrorising their town before going to school
and discovering the joys of Shakespeare
and poetry, new forms to devour and digest.

17 taught me that there would be books I would hate, happy to destroy page by page
if my love of the written word did not prevent
such desecration. Yet this did not put me off,
still happy to devour new authors, consuming their words, travelling further and further.

I lost myself in the imagination of others;
Cornwell, Canavan, King and Austen among many. Their words a barrier between myself and the demons that haunted my twenties,
discovering favourites that still excite me a decade later.

The books I have yet to read threaten to topple yet the excitement is still there,
the smell of paper and ink, the weight of a new volume in my hand, the sound of crisp pages turning; reading delights the senses.

Books taught me that there is always a way through and I still have many worlds to discover.

That's amazing. Totally followed it with the same loves and memories. Thank you so much for sharing.

You have a wonderful way with words.

Thanks so much for sharing this. You took us with you on a trip through your experiences. And the emotions that reading gives you. Thanks.