The Book That Completely Changed My Life

And I want to hear from you too!

Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash

As 2025 begins, I have been all about books! In my last post, I shared the 30 books I read in 2024 and that was a LOT for me! This year I’ve set out to read 50 books… I know maybe I’m crazy but it’s okay with me 😝 So imagine my surprise when I started the year out in a reading rut. I started with The Measure and quit it. I started Assistant to the Villain and it’s been slow going. One of my girlfriends sent me all her favorite reads from 2024 so I decided to start All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker and I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. And so far I am hooked on both!

I thought it would be fun to compile a must read list of favorites and then write a post about all the books you guys have loved! Wouldn’t it be nice to have a list of good books you can always go back to if you find yourself in a rut?

I have read quite a few books I really loved, but one that really started me on the journey to changing my “inner voice” and becoming a “glass half full” girlie is The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein.

I started reading this one right before we decided to move back to Michigan. I had quit my job at Chicago Public Schools and was driving all over Chicagoland seeing kids for speech therapy through the Early Intervention program. So basically I had a lot of time in the car… what better way to pass time than listen to an audiobook? I had really struggled with religion and faith and Christianity since my brother passed away 25 years ago and had hit a low point in my postpartum “experience” shall we call it? I was depressed, anxious, and overweight-ish. My thyroid was underactive, I was lonely, and being a new mom felt so isolating for me at that time. I felt like I had no time to myself, my creativity was stifled, and I was struggling to figure out the balancing act of being a mom and being a human with passions and interests separate from this all new “mom life”. This book taught me about praying in a way that wasn’t necessarily tied to any religion, manifesting, and how helpful positive affirmations can be- guess what, they work! It felt weird to repeat something positive over and over in my head but if you keep saying it you’ll eventually start to believe it (good or bad) and it was the beginning of something huge for me. It taught me about being open to the positive energy of the Universe and being willing to receive it, the law of attraction, and the value in journaling. This book helped restored my Faith- I still don’t subscribe to any one ideology or religion, but I have reframed my thoughts about God and the Universe. I believe these two to be the same. And who wouldn’t want to live like Jesus? He was a rebel, befriended outcasts, and cared more about people’s spiritual needs than their social standings. I think his character is one to aspire to whether you believed him to be the Son of God or not. Wow, that just got a little deeper than I was expecting to get, but I wanted to tell you why I loved this book so much!

So tell me, what is a book you read that changed your life? It can be memoir, self-help, fiction, anything that just hit 💙 Leave a comment and I will compile a list for my next post!

Happy Friday ✨

P.S. I finally worked out today after a pretty good drought 💪