Most Inspirational Books

There are some books that you read through to kill time on a beach or on an airplane. Then there are other pieces of literature that change your life forever. Tales of loss, life, and empowerment are what make these novels some of the most inspirational books for women. Lean In offers advice on how to be a female leader in a male driven workforce, Prozac Nation is an honest autobiography about dealing with depression, and Americanah depicts a fictional story exploring race and identity surrounding a Nigerian woman in the US. If you haven't read these books yet, you're missing out on some wisdom and inspiration. These literary works of art have been given many honors from the New York Times Bestseller List to the Pulitzer Prize Award for Fiction. The stories in these inspirational books will (and already have) transcend through the test of time, connecting people and inspiring, one page at a time.

After a terrorist attack was staged on the Republic of Gilead, order was restored through various methods, including the suspension of the United States Constitution. During the process, women’s rights were stripped away, leaving the handmaids even more marginalized in the military dictatorship. The story is a first person account from a woman named Offred (literally translating to “of Fred," which is her husband’s name). Offred describes her life during her time as a handmaid, as well as life before and during the revolution. This inspirational book was influenced by Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the book has also been adapted for the cinema, radio, and stage. The Handmaid's Tale was written by Margaret Atwood, and won the 1985 Governor General’s Award as well as the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987.

Beloved is set after the Civil War, surrounding the story of Sethe, a slave who spends 28 days as a free woman until she and her children are retrieved by her former owner. Before she is captured, she attempts to murder her children so they won’t be raised in slavery. She managed to successfully kill her oldest daughter, two-year-old Beloved, who is believed to be haunting the family throughout the book. As the story develops, Beloved is reincarnated, creating mixed emotions throughout the community. Toni Morrison wrote it using the story of an African American slave Margaret Garner as inspiration. Garner escaped slavery in Kentucky, fleeing to Ohio in 1856. Beloved won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1998. It was also a finalist for the 1987 National Book Award and has been ranked as the best work of American Fiction from 1981 to 2006. This inspirational book has been adapted into a movie of the same name starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover.

This extremely honest autobiography by Elizabeth Wurtzel describes the author’s experiences with depression and how she lived through it during college and while working as a writer. The title is derived from the widely-known trade name for the antidepressant, fluoxetine. Though it became a national bestseller, it was highly criticized. Publishers Weekly described the book as “by turns emotionally powerful and tiresomely solipsistic, Wurtzel’s book straddles the line between an absorbing self-portrait and a coy bid for public attention.” It was later adapted into a feature film with the same name, starring Christina Ricci.

Before the long-running HBO series and movies featuring Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte, Sex and the City was a book. It is a collection of essays about the life of author Candace Bushnell and her friends. The book contained numerous columns that Bushnell began writing in 1994 for The New York Observer. It was previously published in 1997 and then republished in 2001, 2006, and 2008. Bushnell also wrote The Carrie Diaries, which is a prequel account of Sarah Jessica Parker's character’s rise to fame. It was also adapted into a TV series on CW in 2013. Elle Magazine described Sex and the City as “the book that inspired a generation of women to own their own power.”

The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, an Afghani man, who is trying to find his place in the United States. There, in present day, is where the story picks up, retelling a tale revolving around guilt and redemption while highlighting familiar relationships. These include that of his father, with whom he’s trying to forge a closer relationship. It also includes the father-son relationship with his close friend Hassan, who is one of his father’s servants. It takes place during the fall of Afghanistan’s monarchy through the Soviet military intervention. This New York Times bestseller was written by Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan-American, and stayed on the list for 103 consecutive weeks.

By all accounts, thirty-two-year-old Elizabeth Gilbert had everything anyone could ask for, including a home, a husband, and a successful career as a writer. The problem was she was unhappy, especially in her marriage, prompting her to file for divorce. She then embarked on a year-long trip, spending four months in Italy eating, three months in India finding spirituality, and the rest of the year in Bali looking for the balance of the two. It was on that Indonesian island where she found love with a Brazilian business owner. The inspirational memoir, which was on the New York Times bestseller list for 187 weeks, has also been adapted into a movie of the same name starring Julia Roberts. Oprah Winfrey enjoyed the book so much she devoted two episodes to it on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Unbroken details the prolific life of Louis Zamperini, former Olympic distance runner and World War II prisoner of war survivor. The story very honestly depicts the life of the Italian-American New York native who overcame bullying to become the youngest American to qualify for the 5,000 meters ever. He overcame every obstacle thrown his way, including spending 47 days drifting on a raft and then more than two years as a prisoner of war in three Japanese POW camps. The book, which was written by Laura Hillenbrand, spent more than four years on The New York Times bestseller list. For 14 weeks, it held the number one spot, and it is the fifth longest-running nonfiction bestseller of all time. In 2014, Angelina Jolie directed the movie under the same name. Zamperini passed away a couple of months after the movie’s release.

This New York-based novel tells the story of Theodore “Theo” Decker, a thirteen-year-old boy who loses his mother in a terrorist attack while they are visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Prior to the events, that same day he is captivated by a little redhead who is there with an older gentleman who later gives him his ring and a message. Believing that the message had to do with The Goldfinch, a priceless piece of artwork, Theo takes it, not fully understanding how his actions will influence the rest of his life. It is the third novel by Donna Tartt and won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2014.

Written by Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead discusses eleven areas women can improve in order to be all they can be in the workforce. Using stories from her own life, as well as the lives of leading ladies in high positions, the inspirational book illustrates some unconscious ways women are holding themselves back and how they can combat that. The eleven chapters include helpful, insightful topics, such as “Sit At The Table,” which details a story of women tending to sit off to the side when in a business meeting with men despite being asked to sit at the table. Other chapters are “It’s a Jungle Gym, Not A Ladder,” “Don’t Leave Before You Leave,” and “Success and Likeability.”

Americanah details the life of a young Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who immigrates to the United States in order to obtain a college degree and later stays to work. Prior to moving to the United States, she was in a relationship with Obinze, the son of a professor. The two were separated when their country fell under a military dictatorship. Ifemelu left for school and Obinze hoped to join her, but was denied a visa after 9/11. He later snuck into London illegally and, after years, returned to his country, becoming a wealthy man as a property developer. Ifemelu gained success in the States through developing a blog about race from a non-American black. When she returns to her country, the two are faced with tough decisions after reviving their relationship. Written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah was selected as one of the 10 Best Books of 2013 by the editors of the New York Times Book Review.

The Color Purple examines many themes that encourage overcoming the most terrible obstacles. This book is about the strength of women, sisterhood, and love, and how those three things can overcome atrocities such as rape, abuse, racism, and incest. The female characters are either trapped in servitude or opposing traditional gender roles; this examine the duality of being a woman and what they are subjected to in society. Breaking free from what binds you and learning independence is a central inspirational theme.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower teaches that where you come from doesn’t determine where you are going. This book is particularly inspirational to adolescents that are confused about, or exploring, their sexuality. Themes of sexual deviance are also discussed and must be overcome by the protagonist in order to fully engage in life and all that is there to experience. Bullying is also a theme in this book that shows many different sides to the act and why it occurs in schools. Ultimately, this inspirational book teaches that what happens to us is not what defines us.

I Am the Messenger inspires us to be everyday heroes; helping others wherever we can, lifting up those who are down, and spreading a message of love and hope. Grand gestures of heroism, such as stopping a bank heist or saving someone’s life are just as important, if not less important, than understanding the human condition, being empathic and reactive instead of complacent. Being the message, not just the messenger requires action. Sometimes showing someone the light can make their life all the more brighter, instead of having the risk of their life simply burning out.

The Art of War lays out instructions for how to win a war through winning battles using nonviolent avenues and being strategic. The book is a manual to deciphering human nature and is a powerful leadership teaching tool. The book warns against attacking those weaker than yourself, and avoiding conflict when possible. Treating others and you would treat your children is taught as a powerful way to entice people to follow you.

Tuesdays with Morrie teaches an important message of loving and learning from each other. Giving love freely, without expectation of results and creating love wherever you go are the focus of many of the stories and discussion that the student and teacher have. Developing a sense of your own individuality without being molded by outside factors, such as the media, and pop culture is an important step in life. You must accept what you can do and not dwell on what you cannot do. Leave the past in the past but learn from it, forgive yourself and others, these things will help you grow as a person. Mitch Albom also learns from his former professor that relationships are kept, even in death.

The Help takes us to a place where the fight for civil rights in the 1960s has not been recognized widely. African Americans are still treated as slaves, despite being hired as "help." This novel exposes the differences in the way racism still permeates our culture and is a constant reminder to what has been overcome in the last half century. Skeeter, a white writer whose family has hired help in the South, breaks boundaries and barriers in her attempt to bring the truth to light and raise awareness of working conditions and treatment of African American workers in the south.

The Paris Architect examines altruism and the conflict of protecting one’s self or others. A struggling architect is offered a large sum of money to design hiding places in homes for the residents to hide Jews during the war. The architect knows that if caught, he would face certain death himself and still decides that the risk is a noble one to take and works to protect Jews from persecution. This book teaches the importance and significance of putting other people before yourself when the lives of many are at stake.

Just Kids shows us the connection that humans search for and find, often in times of trouble. This memoir has themes of dedication, hard work, ambition, and leaning on our friends or those we love when necessary. The evolution of relationships and how they change and help us grow as people is explored through Patti’s relationship with a man who starts out as her lover, admits he is homosexual, and discovers that their love is as true as any, but platonic and familiar. This book is about embracing who you are and not giving up on who you want to be, even in the face of adversity.

The Last Lecture encourages us to explore what we want to give to the world, and asks tough questions, such as what is our legacy? and what did our lives really mean? Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture is about living your dreams and helping others to live theirs as well, overcoming all obstacles in your path and seizing every moment. This book teaches us to really live; do not simply go through the motions. Every moment may very well be your last, and making those moments, even the ones that may seem insignificant, count is the most important lesson that Pausch imparts on his students.

The Alchemist teaches us that we must never let anyone or anything get in the way of our dreams. There will be people who enter our lives that will try to take us off of the course we are meant to be on, who will hinder us from fulfilling our destiny. These people are not the great loves that they may seem to be. The person you love will want, and possibly be able to help you, to fulfill your Personal Legend.