Sandy Supposes....

Phobia Fear

PROMPT: A recent article in The Wall Street Journal explores bibliotherapy, "detox" books recommendations to help treat issues like stress, procrastination, and bereavement. The founder of the Book Pharmacy in Berlin suggests that "there are detox classics including epics like ' The Odyssey', and 'detox-by-distraction' bundles of crime, romance, or fantasy." Write a short story in which a character visits a 'book doctor'. What might prompt this sort of treatment? Which books are prescribed, and do they work as a cure? Are there any side effects?

          Tara was a newly-wed. Well, this wasn't entirely accurate. She'd been married for a little over a year. She was here visiting the book doctor as a last resort. Tara's husband had threatened to leave her if she did not deal with her problem. To be fair, not all the issues in their marriage were her fault, but he did have a point about this one. Even if she were to become single, this fear would still exist. Tara had never ever set foot in a kitchen. This room with its stove, refrigerator, cutlery, pots and pans, dishes, and food terrified her. Meal preparation was out of the question, it was impossible. Tara and her partner had survived on takeout grub long enough as far as he was concerned. Tara sought answers to her dilemma.

          Doctor Bibliography diagnosed his latest patient with "mageirocophobia", a fear of cooking. Not wishing to over-stress her, and not being a proponent of shock immersion therapy, he suggested that Tara begin with small steps. He prescribed the reading of several popular cookbooks. Tara returned home with the following titles: 'The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook', 'The Joy of Cooking', 'The Way to Cook', and 'Julia's Kitchen Wisdom'.

         Every evening, Tara sat down with one of her therapy books to study recipes, and glance at the tricks of the trade. She learned about different cooking methods; sautéing, frying, broiling, roasting, baking, and poaching. After a few weeks of intensive perusal, she ventured forth to her own room of mystery. She hefted pots, fiddled with dials, caressed knives, and cracked a couple of eggs. In no time, she was chopping onions, and sifting flour. Tara discovered she enjoyed preparing tasty meals, and she and her hubby blossomed. Nothing was off limits.

          A year after that initial consultation with Tara, Dr. Bibliography was surprised to once again see her in his waiting room. At first glance, he had sensed she was familiar, but he hadn't recognized her immediately. As she sobbed and blurted out her new-found quandary, it struck him. Tara was straining at her seams, and her face seemed rounder. Tara now appeared to be a bigger version of the patient he remembered. His original diagnosis and therapy had contributed to this. Tara had succumbed to another fear, the fear of weight gain, or "obesophobia."