A Book of Light

When something scares you, it’s a sure sign that that’s the very thing you need to do.

I was scrolling through Instagram and came upon a book being read by a fellow blogger, a Van Gogh painting on the cover. I was immediately paralysed by a mix of fear, anxiety and a curiosity to know more. I let that feeling sit in my heart for a few hours, wondering if I should read the book.

And that’s how I came to get ‘A Book of Light’ edited by Jerry Pinto. It’s a collection of real-life accounts of people who have had a loved one battle mental illness. I am wrong there. It is the person and the family who battle it out. Often, the family is at the receiving end, trying to hold it together. There are questions and questionable choices but the book is completely non-judgemental. It presents people and events as they are.

I paused every few pages, letting things sink in. I examined the questions and the doubts, our definition of normal and the vast reservoirs of love that people are.

A Book of Light isn’t merely a conversation on mental illness. It’s compassion washing over you and a lot of healing if you have been hurt somehow.

I have the book on my bedstand, a constant reminder that there’s light in our lives and most often, that light is within us.

Perhaps a few more readings and I would be ready to write a somewhat-review, a more coherent narration of the stories, the varied voices on different kinds of mental health issues.

But for now, I would say it gives me peace.

This post is written for #BlogchatterA2Z.