To ask which books have actually changed your life?

[backtoworkhiho]

For me Marie kondo's book or the power of now had a lasting impression but both need re-reading currently

Yours?

Gift of fear by gavin de becker

Allen Carr - The Easy Way To Stop Smoking.

Read the book and am six years a non smoker without a single craving or sneaky drunken drag of a cig.

Truly life changing. I was a 15 a day smoker for 15 years!!!

Another vote for Allen Carr.

Why does he do that? By Lundy Bancroft

The Women's Room by Marylin French. I read it first over thirty years ago.

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
And Why does he do that? By Lund Bancroft

The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer.

The last of the Ten Booms by Corrie Ten Boom.
George Orwell's Down and Out in London and Paris.
Hotel Rwanda. How could countrymen hate their neighbours this much?
Oddly, the Great Gatsby. Made me see a different world, a different life as a teenager.

Tokyo by Mo Hayder.

I read it and decided to write a book. I've written many since then. Thank you Mo.

Fat is a feminist issue by Susie Orbach. Read it about 30 years ago and it helped me realise what a messed up relationship I had with food and my body image. Never been on a diet since!

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. You have to be in the right place (mentally) to understand it but when you do, it's life changing.

Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy. I was at uni when the playboy bunny was brought back as a feminist symbol and poledancing was being held up as empowering - made me realise what feminism actually was, rather than something that can be sold to you in a pink package....

Feel the Fear by Susan Jeffers. Bought dozens of copies as gifts for friends going through tough times

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay which is semi-autobiographical. As a young adult it opened my eyes to the fact that racism has many faces. I knew about racism against blacks and had learned about the anti-semitism of the war but I hadn't really realised that prejudice and racism existed in many many more ways. It also taught me a lot emotionally about survival, determination and self belief. It's a truly amazing book.

'Fast Food Nation' by Eric Schlosser. Read it as an 18 year old and have been varying degrees of crunchy since then.

Although... ate my first McDonald's since reading it 14 years ago whilst on holiday in France this summer (pregnant and tired and hungry with two moaning kids and all restaurant food was very expensive sit down stuff!) Got it out of my system for another 14 years, I reckon.

OP I saw the title and opened the thread to say Marie kondo too

Never had much time for self help books, but that one has really changed so much in my life.

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

It was a chick lit novel. I don't even recall the title. I fear this makes me very shallow.
The protagonist has a full on time consuming pressured job as a lawyer in London, splitting her life into 6 minute segments. She walks out of work over a terrible mistake and goes to hide in the country. Relaxes and meets lovely bloke who seduces her picking peas.
I found it very profound at the time. And it gave me the confidence to quit my job. God knows where i put the book though....

Strange Meeting by Susanne Hill

I realised I wasn't the character I wanted to be

The Earth's Children series by Jean Auel. (Clan of the cave bear).

This book inspired me to learn survival skills and travel to Canada because o wanted to see the wilderness. Got together with exP on that trip and had our four children. Through the authors forum I met loads of other writers who encourage me to write my novels.

Jerusalem, a History by Sebastian Sebag Montefiore. I read that and lost my faith.

corlan - me too. Exactly!! Life-changing. And I haven't been on diet since either.

Justhappy3 - yours sounds like The undomestic goddess by Sophie Kinsella.

How To Uncover Your Past Lives by Ted Andrews. I found this in a quirky old bookshop 20 years ago and bought it as I had a vague interest in reincarnation.

It completely changed the way I view the world, people, life and death making me less judgemental and more patient.

It presents some interesting theories about reincarnation.
Essentially, that some souls are older than others and we are on a long journey to wisdom.

I also did some of the exercises over a week which aid access to ''files' in the mind which are associated with past lives.

A week later I had some of the most vivid dreams of my whole life. One of which - if it did relate to a past life - explained my previously unexplainable and severe fear of the sea.

After a few of these dreams, I decided that maybe I shouldn't delve in too much and I stopped the exercises.

I know some people scoff at reincarnation but who knows....

I read a management book that went on about 'the power of and and the tyranny of or' anyway that message stayed with me

I've also taken a lot from 'The boy made of blocks' more recently - mine craft isn't the enemy