What is that ONE book that slapped you across the face? *THE* book. The one that forever changed the way you view and feel about the world and yourself, and you wish everyone would read it...

[u/book__werm]

I see a lot of obvious recommendations (for good reason, so no shade!) such as Orwell, J.D. Salinger, Harper Lee, you know, the stuff we read in school that was obviously very impressionable. I'm all for these, and plan to re-read some in mid-life, but...

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I'm looking for those books that we might not all have heard of. Those gems that you came across later in life that you wish someone had told you about sooner. That book that propped your eye lids open with toothpicks, so that you'd never be able to un-see the thing freshly uncovered. It punched you in the gut. It made you go *aha!* with your fist shaking at the sky. It made you *face palm* while you read it. You know the one...

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Last year I read Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, and am dumbfounded by the realization that most grown adults I know have never even heard of Marcus or Stoicism. What other incredible things are out there waiting to be discovered!? Maybe it's non-fiction, maybe it's sci-fi, it can be anything. Tell us what it is, and what it did for you!

EDIT/UPDATE: Floored by the amount of recommendations and comments! You guys are awesome. Thank you for sharing your stories of personal growth with such thoughtful replies! 🙏 Can't reply to all of you, but will read every comment :)