What Book (or other writing) Has Had The Largest Impact On Your Life? Why?

Over this past Christmas I made it one of my goals to read a book. I had had Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen resting on my shelf for far too long and decided that it was the perfect time to dust it off and let it reveal something new and exciting to me.  Only after a couple of pages I became enthralled in the story and message that it held.  Sense and Sensibility greatly impacted my life by giving a better understanding of how my actions affect every aspect of my life.

Sense and Sensibility portrays two sisters; one being very thoughtful, patient, and humble while the other is flamboyant, immature, insensible, and vulnerable.  As the story progressed, I was able to follow these two sisters and view how the way their actions consequently impacted their lives.  Sense and Sensibility made me stop and evaluate my own life and contrast my actions with my outcomes.  I realized the importance of how my actions affect my life and those around me.  Not only did the story hold a wonderful message, but it also kept my attention and was thoroughly entertaining.

It is not often that a book impacts me as Sense and Sensibility impacted me.  It holds a message that we all need.  In today's society, we often don't think before we say or do something; resulting in many situations that we could have avoided or handled differently.  There is much to learn from the lives of others, fictional or not.