Did a Book Ever . . .

Change your mind?

One of the more uncomfortable experiences I have had as an author was a debate over at eharlequin.com about The Roofer. While I consistently had positive feedback in reviews (it was published by MIRA), one woman accused me of having an "agenda" when I wrote the book and felt that child abuse was overreported, and . . . in particular, books like mine should carry a warning label.

It might be easy to dismiss the woman who was arguing with me at the site as a crackpot. In fact, I found her arguments to be weak. However . . . Ialso have to admit that I spent a couple of years as a mentor to unwed teen mothers and won a Jefferson medal for my work. I believe that child abuse, as well as genocide and certain other crimes will be our most shameful events when history judges us. I gather food for the food bank. I give money to the homeless. I DO have an agenda. I want my gay friends to be able to marry. I want the world to be colorblind. I want my children, with their Mexican surname and heritage, to be judged the same as children whose last name is Smith.

However . . . all this got me thinking. What about the POWER of a book. Has a book every changed your worldview? Ever rocked your world in such a way that it really and truly made a difference in how you live your life?

This book did so for me.

What about YOU?