"We all suffer alone in the real world; true empathy’s impossible. But if a piece of fiction can..."

“We all suffer alone in the real world; true empathy’s impossible. But if a piece of fiction can allow us imaginatively to identify with characters’ pain, we might then also more easily conceive of others identifying with our own. This is nourishing, redemptive; we become less alone inside.”

- David Foster Wallace (via larmoyante)