Member-only story
The Woman Who Lost Her Books in a Divorce
What a tragic thing to behold.
This isn’t really my story to tell, but I couldn’t help but be fascinated when I heard an anecdote from a coworker during a meeting.
As an avid reader, this woman once owned a substantive amount of books. However, after her divorce, her husband came into the possession of her at-home library in the proceedings. Now, years later, she collects books exclusively via e-book so that such a thing never happens again.
It was just a small piece of information in a bigger conversation about physical books versus e-books, but my thoughts lingered over this woman’s story because it seemed so outrageous to me. Were they two book lovers who had married, or had the grab for the library been just another way for this man to hurt this woman? I wondered and wondered.
Though I never plan on getting married — even if the “right guy” comes along (snerk) — I know I would fear putting my own collection of books on the gambling table in the game of matrimony. There are books there that I’ve had since my teenage years, and losing them would be akin to losing a dear friend.
What did this woman feel when her bookshelves and their contents were carted away? Did she shed a tear or two? Did she feel hopelessly lost with the loss of all those words…
