The books that changed my life

So, we lost Dolly Parton and one of the things she was known for was running a charity to give kids books. Her dad wasn't able to read or write so that inspired her to give books to kids to get them reading. Then after Dolly's death I saw a content creator on Instagram share her favorite books or books that changed her life. I decided to do the same here. So, let's get started.

The first book I read the change my life was "I know what you did last summer" By Lois Duncan. So the book is the non slasher version of the movie. I read the version of the book with the cover that is similar to the movie poster. Which if I remember correctly was more similar to the movie. Basically four teens hit someone on a road after a party and then have to deal with someone who is out for revenge a year later. I did watch the movie after I read the book. It was after the movie came out and it led me to love the slashers that are similar to that one. I loved the aspect of wondering who the killer could be. Eventually I ended up like some scary movies.

The next one is "Eat pray love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I read the ten-year anniversary version of the book. This book is about a woman who went on a yearlong traveling journey to rediscover herself after divorce. The book taught me that sometimes that you have to go on a spiritual or physical journey to be the person you want to be. She physically went on a trip to do the emotional journey. But I have gone an emotional and spiritual journey. I went from not knowing anything about how my life should or could look like to knowing the framework. I also learned that not every women's life looks the same, well that goes for all people in general. My truth is not a condemnation of yours is the biggest take away from this book. That basically means how I decided to live, what I believe and etc. is not the same thing as me judging you.

I will say this about Elizabeth Gilbert and her story. While I still love the lessons that I learned from the book I do need to address this. Not everyone can afford to do what she did. Quitting your job and traveling for a year is not realistic for a lot of single people. It's also not realistic for a lot of couples. There were also some problematic things that Elizabeth have done or said. But the fact that I learned something from her work doesn't mean that I agree with everything she says or does.

The next book is the "In between" by Hadley Vlahos. In the book Hadley writes about her experience as a hospice nurse and what some of her patients have taught her. This book came at a time when I was going through a lot of grief. By the time the book got into my hands I had lost a lot of people in my family. It was so beautiful how she wrote about and cared for her patients with Alzheimer's. It helped me grieve. It also taught me to talk about death in a healthier way. I think that is something that is lacking in our society.

The next book is "Single today" by Ryan Wekenman. It is a Christian based book, so do with that information what you will. In the book Ryan deals with some of the hard parts of being single especially being single in the church. I do believe in God and therefore consider myself Christian. With this book I learned that I could flip the script and show people there's nothing wrong with being single for a long time or forever. Some people want to get married but struggle with finding decent people to date. Other people never want to get married. It taught me to focus on today with my singleness. I don't take enough advantage of it. That is changing more this year.

I hope you enjoyed this and tell me what books you like.