A book that changed your life

Susan Forward Emotiona Blackmail.
Found that so helpful for dealing with so many people. I was a suckered for being manipulated. Very helpful book.
Did love Educated as mentioned above.

Tess if the D'Urbvilles, I was 23 and massively feeling sorry for myself after having DD as a single parent, wasn't working, hadn't finished my degree (had been a mature student) etc and wondering if I'd made the right choice or whether I'd wrecked my life or atleast my previous life plan. It may be a work of fiction but women and single women with children had it so much worse at almost every point in history until very recently.

After reading it, I pulled up my big girl pants and formulated a plan, couldn't find a job around DD so threw myself in to attending as many Sure start groups as possible, started working, put myself through driving lessons, changed jobs started an OU degree, started teaching, bought my home on my own, have since changed career and my DD is now a teen. None of those things would ever have been on the horizon for a girl like Tess.

Placemarkinh to come back

Mine too. The best £7.99 I ever spent

Women who run with the wolves by clarissa pinkola estes.

Cried, realised I'd misjudged my mother, forgave her, forgave myself. Best book ever

How to do everything and be happy by Peter Jones

Nice girls don't get the corner office

How to talk so children will listen

The gift of fear

Am going to check out that money book!

I came on to say this too 😊

What a fantastic thread! Thanks very much OP for posting it. I've added several things to my Amazon and Audible lists ❤️

Toxic Parents by Susan Forward. Helped me to go no contact with my abusive parents, and restore my self esteem.
Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey. Helped to put my Christian theology into cultural context, and greatly expanded my understanding of the gospels.

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Same

I love this book - I’ve read it many times but not listened to it - I must try that.
I love to listen to people read their own biographies- Dave Grohl, Sinead O’Connor spring to mind - maybe not life changing but there’s something special about listening to iconic figures telling their own stories

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The examined life. Collection of essays/recollections by a psychoanalyst.

Don't know about "changed my life", but Catch-22 opened my mind up as a teenager so profoundly that I could almost feel it happening. My brother was doing it for A-level and left it lying around. I don't know why I picked it up and read it, but I did (must have been bored) and for a week or so I'd rush in from school, go straight up to my room and devour a bit more. Still my favourite book.

I was coming in to say the same. My then Vicar gave it to his team as Christmas gifts, not because it's religious - it isn't- but because it's a brilliant and insightful book. He was discussing it so I bought it and have read it twice so far

Educated by Tara westover

Aldous Huxley's Point Counter Point. I grew up in suburban Essex, where people talked about money, cars, reality TV, celebrity gossip, etc. Huxley introduced me to another world, where people talked about Shakespeare and quantum mechanics and the meaning of life. Intellectually, of course, he was way beyond me (and still is), but it gave me a taste for something more. He showed me how much more interesting life could be. Certain writers really do inspire you. Richard Feynman is like that, and so are Carl Sagan and Oscar Wilde.

Too tired to think of one at the moment, apart from Genevieve Caulfield‘s biography, she was a blind woman who set up a school for blind children in Thailand and went by ship to Japan and was there during the 1923 earthquake. She’s a woman that most people don’t know about, many people know about Helen Keller, but not about her. She was a remarkable woman who I admire so much. Yes, I also have a visual impairment. Unlike Genevieve, I am also an adventure who does a lot of work to improve the situation for people with disabilities, right now my adventure is in Greece. I did just buy a copy of the courage to be disliked, thank you to the poster who mentioned this, since I am going through this at the moment. Ever since I bought my home, and it’s tough going, but renting was a nightmare and unfortunately I had very limited renting options due to my disk disability and a lot of discrimination, anyway, I have been losing friends and hearing peoples negative opinions about my choices. So hopefully this book will help.

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing. Transformed my views on feminism.

Happy by Derren Brown

He has a wonderful way of talking about human nature. It’s very comforting.

@SiouxsieSiouxStiletto I think it should be on the school curriculum.

Your user name is very well timed. I was just looking at Siouxsies set list and reviews for her latest tour. I used to obssesively see her with the Banshees in the 80s+

Riders and Rivals. Jilly Cooper.