I’ve always been an avid reader. If you look at my bookshelf, you’ll see a multitude of stories by authors who come from many different places, and have very different things to say. There are so many books that I’ve loved and cherished, but only a select few that I can say impacted me so much, that they in fact changed my life. I urge you to run to the nearest bookstore and pick up one of these titles. I promise it will change the way you see the world.

1. For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Personally, I’ve always loved anything that Mitch Albom writes, but by far my favorite of his is “For One More Day”. This story hits home for me and countless others, because I think we all have a person in our life that was gone too soon, that we would give just about anything to spend one more day with. Albom describes this heart wrenching experience with tender feeling and speaks to an aspect of the human soul that so often goes unexplained. In one part, Albom writes, “One day spent with someone you love can change everything.” The story that he writes outlines a genuine experience of the human condition, the love we have for those dear to us, and the pain we experience when they are gone.

2. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

This book has often been considered a literary classic, and for good reason. There is something very dark and eerie about Plath’s depiction of the main character’s descent into depression and madness. She paints a picture of the human mind so accurate that almost anyone can relate, and empathize with the main character and her darkening despair and emptiness. To illustrate this, Plath writes, “To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.” Plath’s description of being trapped in a bell jar accurately depicts the downfall of the human spirit. I think this is something that all of us can relate to: a time when you feel like you’ve reached the bottom of the pit of despair; when all hope seems gone. Through her literary excellence, Sylvia Plath writes a chronicle of the human experience so pure and telling, that it will leave you with a deeper understanding of your own mind.

3. The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby

This lively memoir recalls the final days of the author himself, after having suffered a severe paralyzing stroke. Bauby describes his predicament in a light tone, adding a cheerful humor to the situation. He accurately displays the honest truth of illness and disability in a way that echoes the powerful perseverance of the human spirit. He writes, “My diving bell becomes less oppressive and my mind takes flight like a butterfly.” Bauby’s story serves as a reminder that the human spirit can prevail even through the most unfourtunate of circumstances, and that joy can be found even in the darkest of days.