The Books That Changed My Life (and Inspired Me to Write My Own Stories)

The Books That Changed My Life

Every reader has those unforgettable books, the ones that stay with us long after we turn the last page. For me, these weren’t just stories I enjoyed; they were books that shaped how I see the world and inspired me to become a writer myself. Here are a few that changed my life:

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

First published in 1989 by Mexican author Laura Esquivel, this novel is a feast of food, family, and forbidden love. Each chapter begins with a recipe, weaving magical realism through Tita’s story as she expresses her emotions through cooking. It showed me how fiction can be sensual, inventive, and deeply moving all at once. I was swept away by the mix of food, passion, and magical realism. It taught me how stories can stir every sense and make emotions leap off the page.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

Márquez, one of Colombia’s greatest literary voices, wrote this in 1985, capturing a love that endures across decades. It’s lush, poetic, and unhurried. It's an epic reminder that love is complicated, flawed, but sometimes unstoppable. His writing gave me permission to linger over emotion and atmosphere in my own stories. This is love in all its raw, enduring, messy glory. Márquez’s prose showed me the beauty of long sentences, deep emotions, and the kind of love story that lingers.

Small Island by Andrea Levy

Andrea Levy, the British-Jamaican author who became one of the most important literary voices of her generation, published Small Island in 2004. It explores the lives of Jamaican immigrants and Londoners around the time of World War II and the arrival of the Empire Windrush. Reading it felt like seeing my own heritage reflected in fiction, which was something I hadn’t experienced often enough. It's a masterpiece that feels personal to me. It gave voice to the Windrush generation and their struggles, reminding me of the untold stories carried by so many Caribbean families. It also reinforced my passion for writing historical fiction rooted in identity and resilience.

Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E. L. Konigsburg

This 1967 children’s novel by E. L. Konigsburg, who also wrote From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, captured my imagination as a young reader. The story of an unlikely friendship and a girl who claims to be a witch was mischievous, quirky, and magical. It showed me that children’s stories could be smart and empowering. It sparked my imagination with its mix of friendship, magic, and mischief. It reminded me how powerful storytelling can be when you’re young.

When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson

First published in 1967, this haunting children’s classic follows Anna, a lonely girl sent to the seaside who meets the mysterious Marnie. It blends realism with a ghostly, dreamlike quality. I read it when I was young, and it was one of the first books that made me think: maybe I’d like to write stories, too. It planted that little seed of possibility that’s grown into my own writing life today.

Books shape us, comfort us, and sometimes even set us on the path we’re meant to follow. These are just a handful of mine.

What about you? Which book changed your life?