The Top 10 Books That Changed My Life (Maybe They Will Change Yours Too)

Reading has been an important part of my life. As a child and teen, I would read books all the time. The stories were usually a much needed escape for me, especially when I was in elementary school and middle school. Back then I was picked on and bullied by other kids. Things at home were also challenging for me. Books allowed me to escape into someone else's story for a little while.

As an adult I would read for fun as well. When my son was born, it was hard for me to find the time or focus. When he was about two years old, I started to read for fun again. At that time I had moved to Brooklyn, NY from my hometown Syracuse, NY. I had started a new job and commuting into the city on the subway gave me time for reading again. My friend (also named Jen) who lives in Syracuse, had the idea for us to take turns reading a book each month and then discussing it afterwards. This was a fun tradition we kept up with for a couple of years. At the end of 2009 things took a big turn in my life that eventually lead to me filing for divorce the following year. You can read a little more about that experience here in my first blog post. At that time, I shifted my focus to self-help books, which is what I primarily read now.

After being in survival mode for so long, I find it hard to read fiction. I am either trying to solve some problem in my life or looking for inspiration. My life is in a much calmer place, but still that ability to focus on reading for fun feels like a tough commitment for me. Once in awhile I allow myself to read something for fun and I am so glad in those moments that I have.

During this blog challenge, I have been sharing a lot about how much my life has changed over the past 15 years. For my 10th post, I am going to share with you the top 10 books that changed my life.

1. Journaling: I was about to type out titles of books and felt that this needed to be listed. Journals are blank books we get to fill up with our thoughts, feelings, experiences, and insights. At the end of 2009 a couple's therapist told me I should start journaling. Wow, did that change my life! It opened up a portal for me to get to know me more (which is something I never really gave myself the space to do before). Writing and being honest with myself, created life changing awareness. Journaling has always been a safe space for me, especially during times when I didn't have a safe space.

2. "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert: A friend gave me a copy of this book in 2009. Elizabeth Gilbert's journey I found to be inspiring and it was a catalyst for me to start looking at my life honestly.

   
   

3. "Why Does He Do That? Inside The Mind Of Angry and Controlling Men" by Lundy Bancroft: I will forever be grateful for this book and what it did for me. It allowed me to finally name and understand what I couldn't for so long. I purchased this book at the end of 2009 when I started to wake up and realize a lot of things.

   
   

4. "Malignant Self-Love: Narcissism Revisited" by Sam Vaknin: I purchased this book after I filed for divorce in 2010. It gave me much needed insight and validation.

   
   

5. "The Way: Using The Wisdom Of Kabbalah For Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment" by Michael Berg: At the end of 2010, I was in a very intense place emotionally from all the things happening around my divorce. My therapist recommended looking into Kabbalah. This book connected me more to spirituality and lead to a lot of positive shifts in my life.

   
   

6. "You Are A Badass: How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living An Awesome Life" By Jen Sincero: In 2016 I was settled into life being remarried and was sorting things out in my career. This book inspired me to take some big leaps in that area of my life. Not long after reading this book, I signed up for a coaching program. 10 months later I became a certified coach.

   
   

7. "Energy Leadership" by Bruce D Schneider: This book was required reading in the coaching program I took and was the foundation of the training I received. The principles of Energy Leadership allowed me to advance my confidence and communication skills.

   
   

8. "The Oh She Glows Cookbook" by Angela Liddon: This was the first vegan cookbook I remember buying. I was exploring vegan recipes and was drawn to this cookbook It is still one of my favorites. I love the photos and the recipes showed me just how amazing vegan food can be! It inspired me to become a better cook too! My three favorite recipes are the Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas, Crowd-Pleasing Tex-Mex Casserole, and The Lentil Walnut loaf. My non-vegan family enjoys these recipes too!

   
   

9. "Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind" by T Harv Eker: In 2018, I read this book when I was feeling stressed out about debt and business ownership. It gave me some deep insights on my money blueprint.

   
   

10. "Setting Boundaries Will Set You Free" by Nancy Levin: I read this book back in 2023. I was already pretty good at boundary setting at this point. I wished this book had existed earlier on in my journey. It has so many great insights and exercises in it! I still got a lot of value from it. I learned more about myself and my boundary setting skills definitely advanced further after reading this book. It is great read wherever you are in your boundary setting journey!

    
    

I would love to hear from you! What are some books that changed your life and why?

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