About 10 years ago, i read THE SEVEN SPIRITUAL LAWS OF SUCCESS by Deepak Chopra.  It gave me a life-altering perspective on the meaning and attainment of success.  I find that it continues to have an impact on the choices I make in my life, even today.....10 years later!

Have you had this experience?  Has a book changed your life?  

A friend of mine read THE MAKER'S DIET, and something just clicked for her (after trying countless diets  that never seemed to work for her)  She lost 40lb. and has become a healther and happier person!    

Jack Canfield  has put together a book called YOU'VE GOT TO READ THIS BOOK!  In it, 55 people tell the story of the book that changed their life.

For song writer and performer Kenny Loggins, the book SIDDHARTHA by Hermann Hess helped him recover from an emtional breakdown and inspired many of his hits.

Author Jacquelyn Mitchard at age 12 read A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN and decided to become a writer. She rereads it before each book she writes.  She named her daughter after the main character!

What book has had an impact on you?

The Five Love Languages really made me think about the people i love. It still sticks with me today.

Sure can! I got saved after reading the Left Behind. :)

The Book of Mormon changed my life completely. Being LDS is a not just a Sunday religion, but a way of life. When my son died, the knowing where he was and that life continues and the peace I felt from Heavenly Father thru prayer and scriptures, has absolutely kept me sane. In many ways, this tragedy has made me a better person.

On the lighter side, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn had a major impact on me. I thought I was the only one from a dysfunctional family! Turns out we put the fun in dysfunctional, lol.

I would say "Black Beauty" had a profound impact on me and how I view animals.  May be why I help out with transporting dogs and cats from shelters to rescues!

The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade changed my life forever. I could feel the pain of the women who told their stories, and I felt so much anger at a system and society that heartlessly seperated mothers from the babies that they loved and wanted. I am always been a women's rights activist, but this book put another spin on things, and helped me to figure out how I want to spend the rest of my life. Eventually, I want to run a home for young, unwed mothers who want to keep thier babies, and I want to empower them and help them get back on their feet so they can provide the best life possible for their children.

All that from one book. =)

Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People is a timeless classic that taught me to be better with people by stepping outside of myself more, thinking and dealing with them in terms of their needs and interests - genuinely.  Unselfishness really works wonders on yourself and those around you, and this book really opened my eyes to that fact more than anything else.

Your Money or Your Life by Joe Domingez has been influential.  Fast Food Nation has affected my buying and eating habits.

I read Managing With Power by Jeffrey Pfeffer in a leadership class last fall - it has had a great effect on my outlook at work.  Another book that has influenced my attitudes about work is How Would Confucious Ask For A Raise.

A close friend gave me a Dr. William Sears' book called something like Creative Parenting back when I was pregnant in 1984 and told me that I had to read it.  His philosophy of attachment parenting was a major influence on my mothering all 4 of my kids.  I sometimes wonder how things would have been different if I had never read that book.  My kids are 15 (x2), 21 and 23 now and I'm pleased with how the older two have turned out.  The 15-year-olds are also doing well.  They have friends, but still enjoy doing things with Mom & Dad and are close to their grandparents, sisters, and nephew.  Not everything has been great, and I could have given up on the 21-year-old several times when she was in high school, but all four are intelligent, caring, and healthy now.

Cindy

Reading:  Daniel Isn't Talking, by Marti Leimbach

Yes, Shirley MacLaine's book Out on a Limb.  I read it at a particularly horrible time in my life and it changed my perspective forever and made a few things very clear to me.

There are a couple of books that have had a profound effect on me: How full is your bucket? (Roth) made me more aware how the tiniest micro-gestures can affect other people.   I read both Black Like Me (Griffith) & Puddin Head Wilson (Twain) when I was a teen and I've been forever impressed by the uselessness of stereotypes.  Pour Your Heart Into It (Schultz) made me itch to steer my career in my own direction.

There have been two books that have changed my life. The first book actually changed mine and my husbands life. We had lost a baby many years ago. Between the pain of losing the baby, our feeling it was our fault some how and so many other emotions, it seemed that we could not get over losing our baby.  Then we read this book called "Tilly" We both cried all the way through it. It was such a healing experience for both of us. After that we were able to talk and say things we had been afraid to say when we were younger after losing the baby. We were finally able to move forward without ever forgetting in a good way our precious baby in heaven.

My second book was for me and my spiritual life. It is an incredible book!  It's called "The Final Quest" By Rick Joyner. This is an incredible book, a must read.

Donna

I got depressed a while back and came across a book called Today is Mine. It's kinda like a religious book, I suppose...but, it had a scripture and quotes for every day of the year. Anyhow, while it didn't "cure me" per se.....it did help me day by day with trying to come out and see some good in an otherwise ugly time. But, I've kept it around for when I need some kind of "pep talk", so to speak, and for a while there, I came to rely on it.

There are two books that have helped alot how I look at all aspects of my life. The first is THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG by David J. Schwartz and the other is THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING by Norman Vincent Peale. 

This is a great topic! Thanks for starting it!

I read The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann and felt like a character in the Matrix  -- I just wanted to go back to before I took the truth pill.  This book caused me to seriously reconsider the consumerism and waste in my life and has provoked me to read and learn much much more about the environment, biodiversity and our interconnectedness.  A powerful book.

- Tracy

The book that changed my life forever was Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay by Mira Kirshenbaum, which helped me decide to get out of an abusive relationship. Of course, now I wonder why there was ever a question. I'm now married to wonderful man and my whole life has turned around. I recommend this book to anyone weighing her options. It could save your life!  I'm going to post the book, because I know I'll never need it again, but somebody out there does.

Well I read a book that changed the course of my life. It was The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George. I read it my freshman year of college, and at the time I was a Forensic Science major who hated history. However, after reading that book I changed my major to history and hope to become a professor of Ancient History after grad school!

Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyers and Divine Revelation of Hell by Mary K. Baxter

Next of Kin by Roger Fouts.  You will never look at animals the same way again.  You will feel every emotion there is while reading this book, and  learn about humanity, love, and the thread that connects all life together.

A case of the right book at the right time:

Gods From Outer Space changed my life, and may have saved it.  When I was a preteen my family fell apart and I ended up on antidepressants.  I couldn't reconcile the spirituality of people around me with the way I felt; I didn't know it was really OK not to believe in God as the supreme being.  God the extraterrestrial visitor: that, I could get into!  Erich von Daniken's books, wacky as they are, taught me valuable lessons about preconceived notions, conformist pressures, and the power of what-if.  Today I am a critical thinking, happily unmedicated atheist, and have a lasting fascination with science fiction, space travel, and ancient civilizations.

Yes, a book can certainly change one's life!!  For me it was:

Captivating : Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul
Author: John Eldredge, Stasi Eldredge

I've been a Christian for most of my life, but my whole perspective changed after reading this book!!!!  Every woman (especially Christian women) should read this book!!!!!  My husband is currently reading Wild at Heart which is the companion book for men, he's enjoying it and he's not a reader!  I will read it when he is finished.

The Bible was life changing for me, also a wonderful exciting book to read!

But for the most part, I have read many books that have encouraged me, such as The Calvary Road and We would see Jesus.

Lets put credit where credit is due tho....for those reading books and having a life changing expierence that brings you into a relationship with Jesus, remember that the book was just the TOOL in which God used to woooo you to Himself.  How wonderful to know that God is the one pursuing us, that's love!  I know it first hand!!!!!

Thanks for letting me share!

Praising the name of Jesus

Terri Lynn