Discover how bibliotherapy and Zen philosophy come together to heal through mindful reading, offering comfort, connection, and emotional reflection in stories.
There is no feeling quite like reading a book that makes you feel wholly and completely understood. As if the universe has reminded you that you are not alone, and that, hidden between these inky black letters, is a sign that you are heard.
A young, budding writer in her twenties may experience this inkling of commonality after reading Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, just as a man desperately in love with a woman may feel understood reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Certain books will call to certain people.
As in literature, our personal stories and personalities vary wildly and brilliantly. Bibliotherapy understands this variety in relation to both the diversity of people and their individual struggles. Further, it uses this differentiation of people to take individualized approaches to healing, through the powerful art of reading.
Books on the Front Lines: Bibliotherapy in War
Bibliotherapy, a term first invented by essayist Samuel McChord Crothers in the 20th century, is most well-understood as the prescribing of books and reading as an additional therapeutic tool. Bibliotherapy, often associated with ‘Literary Caregiving,’ was used notably in the First World War, where books by authors such as Jane Austen were used to emotionally treat soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorders.
Soldiers found comfort in love poems and novels by greats like Kipling, Brontë, and Dickens. Some hospitals treating soldiers were given traveling libraries created by volunteers and librarians, where the wounded could pass their time recovering by reading, combating deeper feelings of despair and anguish.
Reading as Remedy: What Science Tells Us
Bibliotherapy was adopted favorably by wartime nurses and doctors, who would prescribe certain genres of books for soldiers, based on their afflictions. Reading, thus, must be seen as a nourishment for the soul. In times of distress, we turn to the pages of a novel, the beautiful words of a writer.
Reading is scientifically suggested to reduce feelings of loneliness, challenge social exclusion, and provide a manner of healing for those dealing with difficult situations. Reading has even been suggested to be more effective at reducing stress than listening to music or going for walks.
Let the Grass Grow: Zen and the Art of Healing Through Reading
Bibliotherapy is a particularly powerful approach to healing because it does not require immediate change; it allows one to move at their own pace, instead of thinking of reading as a ‘treatment’.
Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō was supposed to have once said, “Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself.” His words embody this idea of unrestricted healing, the type of healing that happens as you turn away and free yourself of expectation.
How Zen Philosophy Challenges Our Need to Control
The philosophy of Zen, whilst originally rooted in Japanese, Chinese, and Indian culture, has recently become a phenomenon of mindfulness in the Western world. Zen is based on presence, simplicity, and awareness; in simpler terms, living for and in the moment. Non-striving is also an important, yet often-misunderstood, aspect of Zen Buddhism.
Some believe this equates to laziness or giving up too easily, aimlessly floating, but Zen philosophers would argue that this is very far from reality. Non-striving, in the context of the Zen philosophy, is simply to let go of the undeniable expectation to achieve, fix, or control all situations.
The Radical Act of Reading Without a Goal
The society we live in is rife with such expectations. The type of expectations that are difficult to rid ourselves of. Often, we are working towards these blanket milestones of ‘success’ and ‘achievement’ that we aren’t even sure we want. Taking a Zen approach to reading can alleviate us of such unnecessary goals, and instead ask us to read without always grasping for answers.
Zen does not reject meaning, but rather, questions whether always extracting meaning may lead us away from being present in the moment. Further, that meaning, like healing, is more likely to arrive later, and cannot be obtained whenever we decide. The Zen approach to reading is, if anything, liberating. It echoes the same principles that bibliotherapy was born from, reminding us of the importance of escapism and direct experience.
When Stories Mirror Our Pain—and Our Healing
Bibliotherapy, like Zen, requires slow and purposeful healing. It is a form of escapism that is desperately needed for the soul, as it reminds us that not only do we find joy in the literary world, but that we can heal from it. The characters and the challenges they face, whilst perhaps fictional, are not new.
We readers can find solace in seeing ourselves reflected in the comforting narratives of the heroes and heroines, even if it takes a while to realize that their reflections are our own. Healing, like a gripping plot, is not linear, and frequently takes us on routes we never expected. After all, the most interesting and worthwhile of stories are the ones that keep us guessing until the very end.
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Vincent Phan
Vincent is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of 1000 Libraries Magazine. He is a Paris-born ex-corporate turned bookseller and philosopher, on a global mission to spread the joy of physical books in our age of digital technology.
