I stopped reading when I had kids. It took some alone time to get back my love of books — and this crucial piece of my identity.
A personal essay detailing the author's struggle to maintain a reading habit after becoming a parent. It describes how finding dedicated alone time allowed her to reconnect with literature and her own identity.
Why it matters
It highlights the common challenge of balancing personal identity and hobbies with the demands of modern parenthood.
The author has rediscovered her love of reading. Courtesy of Melissa Noble I've loved reading for as long as I can remember. However, once I became a mom, I no longer had time for it. At the end of a recent trip, I had some alone time and rediscovered my love of books. I've always loved reading , ever since I picked up "Little Women" as a 10-year-old girl. As I got older, books became my secret escape, taking me to places I never could have imagined. But when I had my first child, something shifted. Suddenly, reading became a chore. I'd try to pick up a book, only to fall asleep a page or two in. I simply couldn't absorb what was on the page, probably because I was so sleep-deprived . When babies number two and three came along, it was no different.
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