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Books That Saved Me

Books That Saved Me

Finding refuge in an accessible, classic Buddhist text after my mother's suicide

River Selby (they/them)'s avatar
River Selby (they/them)
May 27, 2022
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Books That Saved Me
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(this post contains subjects that may be upsetting, including suicide and addiction. please take care of yourself)

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I have to offer with this newsletter. What do I have to give that is of value? Not valuable in the capitalist sense, but valuable in a sense of comfort? Because that is what I’ve always been drawn to as a writer— comfort and connection. It’s what I seek above all else in writing. I’ve had enough violence in my own life; I don’t need that in my books, though I am willing to witness violence if it means understanding someone’s personal experience or the shape of a character.

While I value formal complexity in fiction and nonfiction, that’s also not what I seek, at least not on its own. As a reader, I want to learn something from everything I read.

I wonder if everyone has books that have saved their lives. It’s not just me, I know this. Many writers who write books that may be scary to them, about their private and personal experiences (wh…

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