Can questions ever be as devastating to read as the words/actions they describe? How?

Yes, they can trigger emotions just as strong if not stronger than the ones that originally created those emotions. Of course.

I disagree with thee NHP. Reading about something is not the same thing as experiencing it.  I can tell you my experience with cancer in 2008. But you will never understand the magnitude of it if you don't experience it. I can describe what giving birth is like but unless you have given birth you cannot possibly understand what it FEELS LIKE.  I can describe the almost-fatal auto accident that Jim and I miraculously survived in August 2004 but you cannot possibly understand what it FEELS LIKE  to be in a car that starts swaying, going in circles and going into rollovers before it smashes into a mountain. Words can never be the same as experiencing what the words describe. Just my opinion. Thank you for your reply! :)