Books That Shaped My Life
by Ann
Books have been an integral part of my life, shaping my thinking, directing my success, creating adventure, contributing to my happiness, and influencing my connection to society around me.
In the late 1930s my first book was Raggedy Ann & Andy. I still remember the warm feeling of love I felt when told the words on Raggedy Ann’s candy heart read, “I Love You.’
In the late 1940s while spending afternoons in a small,one room city library, I experienced growing pains with Little Women’s Jo, and got acquainted with St. Luke in Taylor Caldwell's Dear and Glorious Physician. During the 1950s my thinking was shaped by the works of Norman Vincent Peel in the Power of Positive Thinking; Napoleon Hill’s, Think and Grow Rich; The Magic of Believing, by Claude Bristol; Maxwell Malt’s Psychocybernuetics, and tempered with Dale Carnegie’s, How To Win Friends and Influence People.
Dr. Spock guided me as I raised my children. The late 1960s were my inquisition years, ‘what if’s’ from the works of Edgar Cayce, Ruth Montgomery, and Adela Rogers St John. The Honey Badger and Valley of the Dolls were my first introduction to exploit sex in novels. Elizabeth ForsythHailey’s, A Women of Independent Means and Oliver Ann Burn’s, Cold Sassy Tree exemplified the strong southern woman I would choose to become and reminded me to appreciate my southern heritage.
In the latter years of the ’70’s Dag Hammarskjold directed my spiral path in Markings and ‘I sensed the privilege of being in contact with a great, good, and lovable man’ W. H. Walden pointed out in the forward of his book. During the 1980s Erich Fromm’s, The Art of Living, and Leo Buscaglia’s Love, taught me the definition of love. In the late 80s, I was Getting Better All The Time with Liz Carpenter, starter to wear purple with Jenny Joseph, and spent time, Going Within with Shirley MacLaine. Then learned, What To Say When Yo Talk To Yourself from Shad Helmstettler.
The 1990s were the ‘two hankie’ books’ where I shed two hankies worth of tears of joy, laughter, empathy or sorrow. Notable were Bailey White’s, Mama Makes Up Her Mind and The Bridges of madison County and The Notebook. I am a world traveler via the magic of books, had a wonderful time crossing the United States with Charles Kuralt, ‘Charley,’ and John Steinbeck.
I have grown a wonderful life through books and plan to continue throughout this lifetime.