Like today for example: I kicked my own butt at the gym with a 70 minute spinning/circuit workout that left my muscles shaking.
It was tough but good. Oh so good.
Sometimes you gotta deal with the tough part to get to the good part.
Want another example?
Water for Elephants.
This book hurt my heart. Its so poignantly well written that I couldn't help but feel for the characters in a way that literally made me cry. The story was so real in fact, that I kept turning to the back cover to check if it was non-fiction.
I won't go into the details for those of you who haven't read it but I will say that because there were animals involved, it went from sad to gut wrenching for me. If you follow me on Twitter you know I had a really hard time with this book, almost to the point that I stopped reading it. I was so bothered and yet I couldn't walk away from it.
And therein lies the lesson. I had to deal with the tough parts because the end result-a beautiful story- was worth all the difficulty it took to get there.
Don't you just love how fiction can imitate life like that?
Other books that I have read that were a worthwhile challenge to finish:
Madness (Marnya Hornbacher)
The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls)
An Unquiet Mind and Nothing Was the Same (Kay Redfield Jamison)
The Book of Negroes (Lawrence Hill)
Lucky (Alice Sebold)
Each of these stories , no matter how hard to read, need to be told for one reason or another. The message will touch you, and in many ways change you, the way only good literature can.
And on that note I want to share them with you.
Giveaway
One lucky reader will win a copy of Water for Elephants and her/his choice of one (1) of the books listed above OR two of the books listed above (if the winner has already read Water for Elephants)
How to Enter
1. Leave a comment recommending a book that really touched you (required)
Additional entries
1. Tweet the contest and leave me a separate comment letting me know that you did it
2. Like Health, Happiness & Skinny Jeans on Facebook and leave a separate comment letting me know that you did it.
The giveaway is open until Friday at 11:59EST.
Residents of the US and Canada are eligible to participate.
The winner will be announced Saturday morning.
Good luck...and hey, just in case you don't win, go buy or borrow all those books any way. They are so worth it!
So tell me, what book(s) have really left an impact on you?
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored giveaway. I am not being paid to review the books nor have they been provided to me. I am sponsoring the giveaway of my own valition.
