Between the Pages: Finding Hope

Between the Pages: Finding Hope

As long as I remember, I’ve always walked around on a tiny piece of thread called hope. Hope that one-day I will reach the other end, hope that one day I’ll be standing on a steady ground to dance. For all these to happen, I needed not to look down and have a reminder that how much is burning, I needed a distraction. Books have always granted me that. An escapism, a friend, a hand that might hold me when my will to go on gives up. For countless days when things get too much, I get overwhelmed and need a get way, the only thing that keeps me sane is picking up a book, getting lost in other worlds. For I’ve always lived between words etched on pages, lived in numerous other worlds than my own. Books, stories, words have always given me hope to hold on a little longer, always sang in my ears,

For the hope of it all,

From all the emptiness it crawled from.

Even the books that end in tragedy have given me hope that the book was worth it, even the tragedy was worth the read, the storyline. For example “I fell in love with hope” by Lancali is one such book that tells me that even the upcoming hardships, tragedies might not be that bad. Gives me hope to look past those and try to find and live more in the moment.

The story is followed by the narrator Sam with his friends who want to take back everything from life, from their diseases, everything they didn’t have for it. Even with the uncertainty they rely on hope trying to reclaim pieces of the world that their illness has stolen from them. Despite their suffering, pain, grief they found hope in little things like laughing with friends, small rebeling, hoping for a life outside hospital walls etc. All these things gave them hope to look forward to a different day with their found family than staying depressed about their situation. They have a list of these things in their shared diary that  they want to finish before the time comes to an end for any of them.They lived, loved, died.

“Life is made of so many goodbyes welded together. So dread the endings. Cry and rage and curse them. Just don't forget to cherish the beginnings and all that comes in between.”

- Lancali,I Fell in Love With Hope


I love the rebellious hope of the characters about how they do not let their illness define them. They rebel against their situation, illness and steal moments of freedom, adventures. Even though they feel overwhelmed, they choose hope, they choose to continue living the little time they have to search for the things they might never get to see. Even though hope doesn’t always lead to a happy ending, it’s more about a journey. Despite knowing, they might not survive, they’ll have to see the worst of each other, they hoped, loved, lived. The characters didn’t run away or deny their illness, rather accepted it.

“Just because the stars fell doesn't mean they weren't worth wishing on.”

- Lancali, I Fell in Love With Hope

The courage of hope is one of the most powerful things that exists. I found them through books. Books that contain stories of survival, resistance, courage. Even in the darkest of times, there is always a glimmer of hope. Reading books, words fill me with hope to change everything that I’m constantly running away from. Reading about characters who go through hell and back but still find a way to go on gives me hope. Even though the characters are fictional their stories can be relatable with real life in many aspects which make me believe I can do it too. When I say books give me hope, I mean how they show me people can overcome anything, that I’m not alone in whatever I’m feeling and that there’s always a way to look forward to. Reading isn’t just a source of entertainment to me but a way to find meaning in things, learning new perspectives and finding hope in a world which is too overwhelming and often hopeless.

Written by :

Nusrat Jahan

ID: 24301115

Section: 20

Course: ENG101