A Costa Mesa man has been teaching himself how to read, and sharing his experience on TikTok.
For 35-year-old Oliver James, books were not a part of his upbringing.
“I don't remember books at all,” he said.
James told KNX News’ Margaret Carrero he struggled with ADHD, being abused in and suspended from special education class, and bouncing from one school to another.
In 2020, he decided to teach himself how to read. The reason – he wanted to become a better father.
“And I realized that reading begins at that age,” he said. “It has to be imprinted into your brain.”
While teaching himself to read, James documented his journey on TikTok and garnered more than 304,000 followers.
The journey, he said, has been life-changing.
“Everything is different. Nothing's the same. Everything I do revolves around reading,” he said. “Well, before everything revolved around avoiding reading. So it was a very complicated life when you're avoiding every avenue that had to do with reading.
Now I approach it. So my whole life is totally different.”
One example he gave was that now he takes his kids to the doctor.
“I would not take my kids to the doctors before when I couldn't read,” he said. “There's just nothing in me that would tell me to do that. But now that I read - even though I can't read the paperwork that they give me at the doctors - still, I go and I try it because there's no fear there. Now, I'll go and do something. So I'm a better father.”
He recently celebrated completing his goal of reading 100 books in 2023, finishing on New Year’s Eve with his current favorite book, Louis Sachar’s “Holes.”
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