Kids write the best fan letters. “It made me feel verry alive.” That’s how a fourth grader from Middletown Elementary School described the experience of reading. From time to time I find the same comment, though not always spelled the same way, in my fan mail, and it always makes me stop and marvel about the power of story. Why does reading a story about someone else make us feel alive? Want to explain your theory?
Illustration by Eric Brace for Please Write in This Book by Mary Amato
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteLong-time listener, first-time caller. Love the show. Hey, that Errol Morris film I was talking about the other night at dinner, the one with the blind naked molerats? It's "Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control." I had substituted a "Furious" for the "Cheap." Thought you might like to know.
As for your question: I think reading a story about someone else makes us not exactly alive, but alive-er. It takes us outside our narrow selves, makes our worlds larger. That's the obvious thing. But there's also this other thing. It lets us suspend our egos for a little while. It lets us be humble. Like when we have children. Or contemplate the blind naked mole rat. Or bury goats. Warmest, Steve.