Reading as a Coping Strategy

This chapter focuses on reading as a coping strategy. We first draw on the relationship between reading and wellbeing and examine some of the ways that reading has been known to have therapeutic value. We then examine how participants reported their use of reading as a positive coping strategy, analysing the reasons they provided for why they turned to reading and drawing attention to the ways in which they framed their experiences. The final part of this chapter discusses findings more broadly to suggest how our data build on and extend what we know about how reading might be used as a coping strategy during times of crisis.