"Trading Stories"

Throughout her life, Jhumpa Lahiri, dedicated her life to reading and writing, which is where she found her true passion. In the article "Trading Stories," Lahiri tells about growing up in a household where reading material was limited and how she overcame this issue by finding ways to get her hands on books that she was interested in and writing with friends at school. Her fathers books were not appealing to her as they mostly dealt with his studies and her mothers were often in a different language or off limits. Despite this, Lahiri was still able to find ways to obtain English books about American lives. Problem was, these books separated Lahiri from her parents and give her insight into a different kind of world that they were unaware of. This created a feeling of trespassing for Lahiri, however, she was learning and becoming fully invested with these texts. In this way, Lahiri was able to know and understand American lives better and she began making friends at school through common interests with writing. Everyday, whether at recess or at home, Lahiri was devoting every spare moment she had to reading and writing and it was the one place she felt truly comfortable. Literature broke the barrier between herself and the outside world, and with it, she found her real self.