I have been an avid reader ever since I was able to read independently.  As a kid, I devoured books — The Trixie Belden series, books in my school library about suffragists, Little Women, Judy Blume and Judith Viorst books — anything I could get my hands on.  As I got older, my love of reading influenced my career choice.  I became an English teacher then a school librarian because of my love of books.  From a very early age, I understood the powerful effect books have on a reader.  For me, books offered escape, knowledge, and insight into life; books changed me.

Last summer, I read a book by Cheryl Strayed.  The book was Tiny Beautiful Things, and it’s a book filled with posts from her advice column Dear Sugar.  You might immediately think of a Dear Abby situation, which strangely enough, I read voraciously as a kid, but Cheryl (Sugar) goes much deeper than Abby ever did.  Cheryl shows compassion with her responses and calls people out in a gentle way.  When you read her book, you can tell that she really ponders each situation and responds with wisdom and honesty. 

In this book, there was a letter from a dad who lost his 22 year old son.  I immediately wanted to reach out to this dad, although this was written more than ten years ago and there’s no way for me to find out who this man is.  His letter slayed me.  But then Sugar’s response really hit home.  Here are some things she said that resonated with me, and maybe they’ll resonate with you as well:

“My grief is tremendous but my love is bigger.”  

“Your boy is dead, but he will continue to live within you.  Your love and grief will be unending, but it will also shift in shape.”

“More will be revealed.  Your son hasn’t yet taught you everything he has to teach you.  He taught you how to feel like you’ve never loved before.  He taught you to suffer like you’ve never suffered before.  Perhaps the next thing he has to teach you is acceptance.  And the thing after that, forgiveness.”  

“You go on doing the best you can.  You go on by being generous.  You go on by being true.  You go on by offering comfort in others who can’t go on.  You go on by allowing the unbearable days to pass and allowing the pleasure in other days.  You go on by finding a channel for your love and another for your rage.”   This has become one of my favorite quotes. 

“…Grief taught me things.  It showed me shades and hues I couldn’t have otherwise seen.  It required me to suffer.  It compelled me to reach.”

Strayed’s book, as well as many other books I’ve read over the years, help me when I’m down, when I’m experiencing a wave of grief, when I’m just trying to figure out the world.   I want to share with you some  phenomenal books that, over the years,  have impacted me and the way I see the world.  

1. Remembering the Good Times by Richard Peck.  When I began my degree as an English major, I had this weird idea that the books I read should all be classics.  Then, I enrolled in a YA Lit class and I read this book.  It was the first (and definitely not the last) YA book that made me cry.  Since then, I’ve been a big YA reader and believe that there are lots of great lessons to be found in YA fiction.   

2. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher.  This is probably my all-time favorite YA book, and I think EVERYONE should read it.  In fact, after I read this back in college, I made my dad, my sister, and my future husband read it.  This book is about family, love, and standing up for what is right, and you just can’t help empathizing with the main character, Louie, who gets mistreated after trying to do the right thing.  Since reading this, I’ve devoured all of Crutcher’s books, and they are all very moving and appealing to both young adults and adults like myself.  

3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.  I first read this book in college, and then I taught it in my Junior English class .  I love the “I to we” theme — the idea that society works better when we lend a hand to those who are struggling.  I know that this novel is long, it’s very descriptive, it’s probably not for everyone.  However, I see The Grapes of Wrath as a beautifully written historical fiction work that continues to teach me about the nature of humanity..

4. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls.  I remember the first time I read this a few years ago, and I couldn’t stop talking about it.  Walls’  memoir  is extremely powerful.  As a parent, I could not even fathom the level of neglect the children in the story experienced.  I admire Ms. Walls for removing herself from a toxic family situation and for having the courage to share her story.  

5. Wangari’s Trees of Peace:  A True Story of Africa by Jeanette Winter.  This is a picture book/biography about Wangari Mathaai, a scholar/environmentalist from Kenya.  Every year I read this to my 2nd graders around Earth Day.  It’s both sad and uplifting, with brilliant illustrations that add to the message of the book.  Although this is a children’s book, I highly recommend you take a look or read about Wangari Mathaai.  She was an amazing human, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and someone you may know very little about.

6. Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco.  I love this book. It’s one I read again and again and again to my students, and every time I get choked up.   Junkyard Wonders is the story of a teacher, Mrs. Peterson, who teaches the kids who don’t quite fit in a traditional classroom.  The other kids see Mrs. Peterson’s students as “junk,”, but Mrs. Peterson sees them all as wonders. It’s a beautiful story about a class that forms a lifelong bond and, in the process, learns to never give up.  

7. In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner.  I read this in 2022, and I have been talking about it ever since.  It’s a YA novel that is beautifully written; in fact, it is prose that feels more like poetry.  The story is about a boy growing up in Appalachia, being raised by his grandparents.  He gets the opportunity to attend a boarding school on the East Coast with his best friend, and this changes his life.  In the Wild Light is about family, friendship, love, and becoming the person you were meant to be.  

The point of this list is to show how books can impact readers and how books impacted me.  Each of these books has taught me something valuable and presented me a different perspective on life. These works have inspired me, allowed me to work through my own emotions, and carved out the version of me you see today.  I am better, wiser, more accepting, and more empathetic after reading these books.  I hope that these books — or whatever books you are reading right now — have this same impact on you.