Quote:

“Stories, Miss Emmy, are what bind us. Stories hold us together and help us think through problems, work through emotions. They take us on adventures, allow us to escape, but even more than that they help us see the universe more clearly. Through stories, fantastical though they be, we see reality in greater detail.” – The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine by Lindsay A. Franklin

Context:

You know those times when you have to sit up from reading and just have to revel in the beauty of what you just read? You just stare at it and think, “Wow, that’s beautiful.” This is exactly what I felt like after reading this quote. I resonated far too closely with these words. 

This. This is what it feels like. It’s in words. 

So often I feel as if the value of story is diminished. People depreciate fiction because they claim “it's not real.” They say that it's just a book. It’s fake. Yeah, you read, but only fiction so you’re not really gaining all the benefits if you don’t read nonfiction. 

Of course nonfiction can be immensely helpful. I have read many nonfiction books that have impacted me greatly!

But what I don’t believe is right, is that saying fiction is not real, not helpful or not profound. Just because maybe the world in which it takes place is not a real place does not make it fake. Those emotions? Those are very real. 

Just because I can’t go to Middle Earth does not mean that the hope it instills in me is fake. 

Just because the Pevensies don’t actually exist doesn’t mean that the courage they gave me is a lie. 

Just because the March sisters aren’t real does not mean the joy they bring is not real either. 

Just because Peter Pan can’t take me to Neverland, or I can’t fall down a rabbit hole with Alice, or find a secret garden with Mary Lennox, does not mean that those emotions it filled me with weren't real. They are very real indeed. 

It is these stories that give us the hope and courage to fight even the toughest of battles. They show us true courage. They help us see the value of family and friends. They show us the deepest themes that can’t be found anywhere else. 

It is one thing to hear someone say we should be strong. Yes, we know that. We should all be strong. Being strong is a very good and useful thing. But if someone tells you to be strong, its probably not going to make you strong. However if you read a story about a hobbit who was scared and didn’t feel very strong at all in this wide world where he was very small, but he braved his fears and with the help of his friends traveled across lands to destroy a ring in a very fiery mountain, you would be instilled with that strength. You might think, if he can do that, I can do so much more. I can have courage. I can be strong. 

Jesus did the very same thing in his teachings. Often when the disciples did not understand he would teach them in parables. It helped the disciples remember his teachings more, and it helped them to do what he commanded. When they could hear about others doing it, it appeared much easier. When they heard others in these parables obeying God, being strong and unafraid, they were presented with courage to obey and to show kindness to others. 

More often than not, Jesus spoke in parables. He spoke in stories. 

So yes, maybe the characters aren’t actually real, the world doesn’t actually exist, and maybe that story never actually occurred in our world, but they are far from fake. The things they make us feel are true. And when we get to walk through these stories with these characters, we too get to have courage and hope in the coming of the morning. We get to journey through these tales with the characters. We become part of the tale. These stories can hold us together. When we’re going through hard times, they help us see the problems and tackle them with faith and belief. They help us spot the things going wrong, and help us see how to fix and make them better. 

When the world is falling apart and we can’t stand under the weight of it all, we can escape into a tale and the friends we meet there can help us take a deep breath and stand again on our own two feet. We get to take a step back, breath, and have courage. We then see our world in greater detail. Reality seems not so scary when we’re presented with the courage these stories can give us. 

No matter how fantastical or impossible those books seem, they are very real. So read stories. Delve into worlds. Meet characters. Find meaning. Experience wonder. Learn. Study. Feel things. Find hope and courage to face the darkest of nights. 

Stories remind us of the hope we have of a better ending.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4 :8 

Written by: Adalyn E. Skains