So I've Read...

Miss Elizabeth Bennet, beloved heroine of Pride and Prejudice, proclaimed, "I am not a great reader, and I have pleasure in many things.'' Such could have been befittingly attributed to me , for I was never a prolific reader in my younger years.

It wasn't until I started travelling for work that I began affinity to the written word. Needing something to do on airplanes, I began to read popular fiction like Grisham and Crichton. Although I only averaged one or two novels a year, I felt like I was feeding my brain some long needed stimulus - allowing my mind to form images that TV and movies spoon-fed without regard to my decaying gray matter.

When life dealt me a challenge that dominated my every thought and emotion, I desperately needed a diversion from life. I escaped into books, devouring dozens of them. Troubling thoughts could be put on hold, sent to the waiting room until I decided to open the door. My mind and heart were free to roam fictitious worlds, caring for characters I've met only on the page.

Though difficult times are behind me, one legacy is a love of reading. No longer an escape to hide from life's difficulties, reading feels more like mental spa. I only wish I could get a back massage as part of the deal.