The Book That Taught Me to Read

Some of my earliest memories of my mom are of her reading, often with a novel by her favorite author, Danielle Steel. I remember watching her settle into a book on quiet summer nights and peaceful, cool mornings. I was always amazed by how quickly she could become immersed in a story, sometimes finishing an entire book within hours. I never understood what made reading so captivating. To me, it always seemed like a quiet, really uneventful hobby. Over the years, I picked up books intending to finish them, but I rarely made it to the final pages.

My mom was not like anyone I knew. She was the strongest woman I have ever known, especially after her 30 years battling cancer before devastatingly passing away this past year. After she was gone, I found myself wondering what she had discovered in books that allowed her to find peace and escape from the chaos of the world. I wanted to understand what had made reading so meaningful to her.

In the years prior, I had remembered a book called Far From Home sitting beside her on her nightstand. After her passing, I went straight to the library to look for the novel. It became one of the first books that truly showed me the power of storytelling and helped me discover my own love of reading.

The plot takes place in Paris, France, during the final years of World War II. Far From Home follows Arielle von Auspeck, a half-French and half-German aristocrat, who lived a privileged lifestyle with her husband, Gregor. But beneath this lavish lifestyle, people were still filled with uncertainty and fear, not knowing what or when the next tragedy would be.

As a retired colonel, Gregor wanted to make a change for the people and not stand by while his country endured more pain. He became involved in the German resistance, Operation Valkyrie, a real-life operation to attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. After the plan failed, Gregor and other members were captured and killed, leaving Arielle with a new purpose and a new life. The story follows her journey as she is forced to obtain a new identity and move to Normandy, with no contact with her children or other family members. While in hiding, she meets Sebastien Renaud, a member of the French Resistance, who lost his wife and daughter, who were deported. After much uncertainty and reflection, she takes on a role in the resistance.

The book follows a woman of courage, pain, survival, and hope during a time of war and unsettlement. What began as a book I picked up to better understand my mom became something more meaningful than I expected. Through Arielle's story, I began to understand why my mom turned to books, not as a way to escape reality, but to experience different lives, emotions, and worlds. For the first time, I understood that reading could be anything but uneventful.