Three Books that Changed My Life

If there's one thing I know about good writing, it's that it is almost always preceded by an abundance of reading. If I hadn't started reading early and often, I am certain I never would have become the writer or the teacher that I am today.

If we are what we eat, I also believe that we are the content that we read and consume. So if that's mostly TikTok videos and the Facebook news feed... that's the equivalent of eating nothing but Doritos and Oatmeal Cream Pies. So if you're in the mood for some real nutrition, here are a few literary recipes that I wanted to offer you.

I cannot pick just three books to point to that have influenced me as a person. I'm going to make this an ongoing series in which I list some of the books that really made an impact on me. Coming up first...

Honorable Mention: The Official Pokemon Handbook

Yeah yeah, I realize this probably isn't the kind of literary sustenance I was referring to a moment ago, but I need to start off my first list with this entry. I read my first book when I was 5 years old: The Official Pokemon Handbook. I brought that bad boy to my parents and had them read it to me cover to cover every single day.

They got so sick of reading it to me that I was forced to memorize all 150 original Pokemon myself. I taught myself to read with this puppy! Even after I was hit with the wonderful realization that other books also existed, I never, ever let that thing go. The cracked and faded paperback has a special spot reserved on one of my many bookshelves.

1. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis

Although The Magician's Nephew occurs first chronologically, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the first of C.S. Lewis's epics that I ever picked up. This book was my introduction into the fantasy genre; it opened up my eyes to what real magic truly looks like.

I was a young man when I read this entry in the Narnia canon, but even back then I could tell that this was a story with a deep truth rooted beneath its surface. The thematic elements of good overcoming evil, the power of friendship, and the goodness of mercy and forgiveness are clear as day. The powerful allegory in the narrative still gives me chills every time I revisit this short novel. It also features one of my favorite lines in all of literature:

"'Course he isn't safe. But He's good. He's the king, I tell you."

2. Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge

This is the one nonfiction book that I wanted to include on my first list. I read Wild at Heart last year. It fundamentally shifted my perspective on the search for meaning in my life and faith. John Eldredge takes a no-holds-barred approach to the state of our modern culture's warped concept of masculinity. The reality is, Eldredge says, God designed men to be dangerous, to be warriors, to be risk takers. We are likewise called to be tender, to be kind, and to be understanding. But unfortunately, the modern man throws the baby out with the bathwater and ends up taking the safe route of just acting like a "nice guy" all the time, even when the situation doesn't honestly call for it.

I really dig his take on the big important questions we all ought to be asking. Check it out.

3. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy is probably the greatest living American writer. No Country for Old Men and Blood Meridian are masterpieces as well, but The Road is my favorite of his novels. In fact, The Road might simply be my favorite novel ever, period. Ironically, I first learned about The Road after somebody told me they hated it because they thought it was too dark. But that was sort of why I loved it. I did not love it for its darkness, but I loved how McCarthy inserted bits of light amongst that darkness. These bits of light shine so, so brightly in the contrast.

I try to read this book every year. It is the greatest postapocalyptic novel ever written because it focuses on the truly important questions that inevitably arise when we ponder what life would be like in a violent and desolate world. Is there a difference between living and surviving? When faced with surviving extreme circumstances, to your ends always justify your means? What would you do to protect the people that you love?

To date, I have never successfully read this book without crying my eyes out. It is 2022, and I'm teaching this book for my 11th grade English class. Here's to hoping I can hold it together in front of the teenagers.