What Happens When People Don’t Read?

I had a relative who absolutely believed that education and reading books was a waste of time.

“Education is stupid,” he’d laugh, thinking he was pretty clever with that one. “Get your head out of the clouds.”

When I was a little kid, my mom worked all day and I’d be home alone after school until she got back. My mom was an intense worrier, overprotective. She was the kind of mom who didn’t like me playing soccer because I’d roll my ankles and she didn’t want me to go off into the woods and tromp around looking for Bigfoot because what if I actually met him.

Yes, I would probably try to hug Bigfoot if it looked like Bigfoot was cool with that. Yes, I would probably die.

“Carrie’s heart’s too big,” he’d say. “It’s a weakness.”

So, I was alone a lot and I read a lot of books. We weren’t wealthy enough for cable TV for a long time, so books were what kept me company.

Those books made me live other adventures and other lives. I’d sink my heart into the hero’s fates, sob when bad things happened to them or God forbid, their dogs.

Who I am is definitely at least partly because of books.

That’s why people think books are dangerous.