Books have saved me many times, but mostly they have saved me from loneliness. I didn’t always have someone around, but there was always something to read. A book doesn’t judge you, doesn’t expect anything from you, doesn’t get tired of being there. You can read the same line ten times or leave it for months. It always starts again with you.

In the worst moments, when I didn’t know who to call or what to do, I opened a book and stopped thinking about myself. Not because I was escaping, but because I needed a different rhythm, another voice, a story that helped me breathe. Reading is the closest thing I know to being with someone without having to speak.