Omg, what a great contest! I love writing and I have a book like the one you describe, too bad I found this post a little late and I've been busy, well, I still want to participate, where I live it hasn't officially been 7 days (it's 10:25 p.m.), I hope you like my story, it's very personal, I think even if I don't qualify to participate, it's worth sharing. 😊

The book that has impacted my life the most so far on a personal level is "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle, because when I read it I was experiencing a very dark moment in my life, I was suffering from depression and strong anxiety (derived from a lot of stress, unfair family problems and judging myself heavily) that made me have severe panic attacks that did not allow me to eat well, I suffocated, vomited, trembled, had nightmares, cried almost every day and intrusive thoughts abounded in my head. The book was recommended to me by a therapist that I used to talk to on my cell phone for 1 hour every Thursday (if I remember correctly), for which I will always be grateful. The reason for him recommending this book to me is that the depression and anxiety I was suffering from turned into an existential crisis, I was questioning everything and I even suspect after reading the book and informing myself, that it was possibly a spiritual awakening because of the intensity of it all.

The Power of Now is considered a spiritual self-help book, in which Eckhart Tolle speaks frankly and tells us about the hard life experience that made him wake up spiritually, venture and want to help others to focus on the present moment to stop suffering, because according to his experience and philosophy, in the now there is no problem and peace is found. Initially, I was afraid to read the book because I had many things in my head and I was afraid that it would make me feel bad and end up confusing me more, but I said to myself "if this reading ends up being too much for me, I know that somehow I can cope with it and I will find something else to help me". I always had faith that I would move forward and thank God I was not alone in the process.

When I started reading the book I was very surprised, how enlightening! I nervously read the pages, all the information, although I received it with grace, left me in a state of deep reflection, but at the same time it undoubtedly fell like a ring to my finger because the book answered all the existential questions that I had been asking to myself! Tolle's experience turned out to have similarities with mine and I even put into practice several exercises that he suggests there, exercises that helped me a lot to not overthink, stay calm and manage my anxiety. This book undoubtedly was a key piece in my healing, it gave me a lot of peace, it gave me answers, it gave me hope and it gave me a safe place to come back to when I feel lost.

It sounds like a wonderful book, doesn't it? I love it, but I feel the responsibility to clarify that since it is a book that deals with existential and spiritual topics, it can be difficult to digest or understand for those who are not open to these topics or are "ignorant" of this type of subject matter, I know this because I have met people who struggle to understand these topics and specifically find it difficult to be in the present moment, which leads to frustration. For me this book was ideal for the situation I was in, it was as if it had been sent to me from heaven (literally), so I will be eternally grateful to him and Dr. Juan (the therapist who recommended it to me).

I'm happy to share with you that I'm currently doing very well, my depression is gone and hasn't come back, my intense anxiety is also gone, I only get small anxieties from time to time and my life is going well, with some problems and difficulties like any other life, but no complaints. The book taught me very well how to keep calm in the storm and even made me into someone who can be a great support for others, someone resilient who can be trusted, like right now I'm the one who takes care of my mom while she is going through an illness (she is healing very well), which I must say makes me feel very proud.

I don't know if you have read this wonderful book dear @creativemary, if you haven't I feel that you would like it. One of my favorite quotes from it is a very simple, but powerful one:

"Life is now. There is no other moment that exists" - Eckhart Tolle.

(I hope I have written everything well, English is not my first language, but I think I'm good with it hehe 🧐)