Few of us will face the tribulations of incarceration against our wills, such as was endured by Bob Dole, John McCain, and Nelson Mandela. Their experiences shaped their world views in dramatic ways, and propelled them into what history judges to be our heroic roles.
Inspiring life stories such as theirs are as close as our public library shelves, but how many of us put at the top of our January list of resolutions the personal goal to read?
Perhaps because I was a child in the era of bookmobiles and card catalogs, when stores were closed on Sundays, and hundreds of television channels did not seduce as they do today, reading was a part of daily life. There were stretches of time to fill. Reading biographies became my obsession.
Books bursting with images of places I had never been and of ways of being I had not considered populated my dreams. These ideas planted, took root and became part of my burgeoning identity, growing steadily if they fi t the mosaic of what would become true self. As layers of stories built on top of each other, patterns emerged against which simpler views might be pruned, to make way for a more complex understanding of what existence could be about, and how I might wish to live.
To work to be a better person, to know the difference between vice and virtue, to choose the high road, though herd mentality may be far easier: Such values arc across centuries, and await the student of life who is willing to commit to the reading way. It may mean sidestepping water cooler conversations about popular culture, but wallowing in perpetual adolescence has its cost.
Most of us will not rise to be celebrated in the annals of history, but reading our heroes’ stories can inspire hope, growth and an action plan to make our corner of the world a better place–and that’s a commitment worth making.
