A thank you to the book that got me back into reading.
>> We’ll Prescribe You a Cat — Syou Ishida — Goodreads
I can’t say that I thought I’d enjoy this book.
Looking at the cover, it’s obviously very cute, and it reminds me of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Not exactly my cup of tea. But I needed something simple and easy to process for my dyslexic mind. No one tries hiking Mt. Everest on their first go.
Some backstory—
I haven’t read a book since middle school. I read hundreds of non-fiction science and psychology books, but with the turbulence of my life at that time, I shrank into myself and stopped doing what I loved. Eventually, the skill for retention atrophied, and picking up a book only became harder every year.
Something needed to change
That’s why, this year, I knew something needed to change. It took me about a month of reading every night to finish this book. I have great reading comprehension, but my ability to parse the information into meaningful chunks to be able to comprehend it is abhorrent. I blame the dyslexia. I had to re-read almost every paragraph a few times just to commit it to memory. Otherwise, it was like watching a ring doorbell without storage. The words processed, but were never saved.
The book explores the lives of several struggling people who don’t feel they have anywhere to turn. That is—until they find a clinic with a doctor that prescribes them a cat!
Where I thought this would be a corny, cute book of cat hi-jinks, I actually received a very human book. We follow several different people struggling, and through patience and time, they learn how to take care of a cat, and thus learn to take care of themselves.
The book was definitely speaking to me, as I, too, was struggling to read its pages while going through a rough patch of life.
When I finished, I couldn't tell you the level of joy I felt from a task that is mundane for so many people. I felt happy that I could revisit a time when reading was a big part of my life. I could finally experience stories and knowledge that had been out of my reach for so long.
I finished this book earlier this year—in 2025. I’m happy to say that now I’m at 21 books this year. I’ve worked my way up, grinding “easier” books to work out my atrophied mind with Bunnicula, The Mysterious Stranger, and The Diaries of Adam and Eve. I then moved onto Harry Potter, A Short Stay in Hell, and The Stranger.
I just finished off Penpal, No Longer Human, and Johnny Got His Gun, and currently I’m finishing off the Harry Potter series as a promise to someone I care about.
I owe a lot to that someone. And I owe a lot to the book that kept my spirits up while I harnessed a derailing train.
/squawk <~
by untitled_operator