LOTR as consolation and encouragement

[Finwe]

I usually get the classic case of feeling that my problems are much too big for me. For example, my cousin, who was like a brother to me, died last autumn. I'm still suffering severe emotional trauma from that. My parents aren't supportive at all about it, and they seem to resist my efforts to go see a psychiatrist. They seem to think that it' "normal" teenage angst. They stopped listening to my problems a while ago. To make things worse, I've become an alcoholic, I'm contemplating starting smoking again, and I'm becoming suicidal. If things couldn't get worse, my best friend, Evan, who kept me alive for the month or two after my cousin's death, has been extremely sick lately. His ulcers are getting worse, and he's been joking about having a tumor in his back. It's bad enough that I'm scared that I'll lose one of my best friends, but it's worse that he's a habitual liar. I keep asking him if he's all right, or if he's joking about all this, but he keeps insisting that they're just "phases." More than the knowledge that I might lose him, is the knowledge that I'm utterly helpless. I can't do anything to stop him from leaving me. It is that feeling of helplessness that drags my heart down like this.

During times like that, reading about Sam's situation helps me out. Sam was pretty much in the same position as I am, having to watch his best friend in the entire world slowly succumb to darkness, knowing that he was completely helpless. Just reading about how Sam got that sudden burst of strength on the slopes of Mt. Doom helps me get through each day. Knowing that this Hobbit could overcome his fears, his tribulations, and his worries, helps me to start getting the strength to overcome mine.