Reading as a radical act of empathy

Reading is an act of radical empathy: turning the page instead of turning away.

-Damian Barr, Maggie & Me: Coming Out and Coming of Age in 1980s Scotland

Dear BookLoves,

I admit, I sometimes want to avoid a book because of the topic. Or clap a hand over my eyes in certain scenes, as I do in shows and movies.

And yet...

When I approach difficult topics and scenes -- which all represent the human experience -- with a certain intention and approach...

And feel the writer's intent and the community of fellow readers around me...

A beautiful thing happens...

In witnessing that human experience, whether real or fictional, the heart opens and compassion grows.

Keep turning those pages, BookLoves.

And share your experience of reading as an act of radical empathy? I'd truly love to know.

~Lisa