Anyone who has ever had to watch a loved one deteriorate after a massive stroke will no doubt look askance at the very idea of such frustration and misery being in some way intriguing, fascinating, or picturesque, and quite rightly. But as we’ve seen time and again, what we feel in real life and what we feel in our reading lives can be quite different.
Very true. My grandfather had a stroke this year---there's definitely a difference in his wellbeing. It's devastating watching a health problem deterioate a loved one. And it's definitely different seeing these problems in person versus through an image you've conjured based on the words you read on a page.
