Fiction has always given me a place to feel things without consequence.
Through characters, I can sit with power, obsession, fear, devotion — all the things that are complicated in real life. I can examine them slowly, thoughtfully, without judgment. That distance matters. It keeps the exploration intentional instead of overwhelming.
There’s something healing about knowing I can close the book whenever I need to. That I’m in control of the pace. That nothing is demanded of me beyond presence.
Reading doesn’t overwhelm me.
It contains the intensity in a way my body understands.
Reading Trauma Mama: Velvet & Taboo 