People who wield words often have no idea what the result of their words will be. Words have amazing power. They can cause wars, or negotiate peace. The wrong words can destroy a person. But when the right words hit the right reader, they can save and transform them.

Many people I know, myself included, read as a form of escape. When it's a stressful week at work or something is going on in my life that I can't do much about reading gives me a way to forget about it for a few minutes or hours. Through a book I can go on a trip to Italy, become someone else, sometime even leave the galaxy. In the not so great moments reading helps me see the possibilities that exist. In the good moments it reminds that there is still more that is possible.

For Elizabeth at Take a Whisk, reading got her through rough times in her childhood.

Reading saved me. I got lost in the words and escaped a stressful childhood and school experiences that were less than joyful. The words helped heal my first broken heart and they helped me to see that the world was a much bigger place than I could possibly imagine.

Sometimes books saved us from the monsters in the closet. For write J.L. Powers books got her through the night.

I would creep out of bed and get a book, a safe book, a children’s book, one that wouldn’t contain demons or violence or anything unsafe. I would huddle in the very back of my closet, bathed in the harsh light of the light bulb. Or, better yet (because it made me feel less sequestered from the people I needed to be near me in order to feel safe), I would gently ease open my bedroom door and sit on the cold cement floor of the entryway just outside my bedroom.

For others the fears and monsters weren't easy to get rid of. Dear Author set aside their usual "first sale" series this Monday to post, as they said, a very, very special essay from Chloe on why she reads. It saved her.

I am alive today because of books. Over 5 years ago, my abuse flashbacks were coming to a head and I was getting maybe 30 minutes of sleep each night after I’d wake up screaming from what I call the “five rape marathon flashback”. Nora Roberts/JD Robb’s “In Death” series saved my life. I had started counseling the same year Naked in Death was published and tried to read the book when it came out based on the recommendation of a friend. But as soon as I realized that Eve had been abused as a child, I put the book down and didn’t pick it up again until 3 years later.

The Dear Author blog is right. It is a very, very special essay. Stories can provide an escape when we need it. They can make a sick boy laugh. They can help an abused child survive. They can help a woman heal.

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey also blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.