“I found myself in the basement of rock bottom, but this book, this painfully poignant book, helped to pull me up and out of the devastating darkness.”

As a Senior Editor at BuzzFeed, I cover books and politics, and I also created the daily vocabulary-boosting word game SAT Scramble.

"Came here to see if anyone else had recommended it! Somehow the funniest thing in the world, like ugly snort laughing in public, while feeling so relatable about depression.

I hope Allie Brosch knows how much joy and comfort she has brought to the world!"

"Wild has this section that always gets me, about realizing you are deserving of forgiveness, that you’ve already been granted it without even knowing. That’s so powerful. It saves me."

"I remember coming across this book when I was at an all-time low and going through one of my worst depressive episodes in the last decade. It felt like a release, and helped me feel something that wasn’t endless numbness."

"Me too. I often get stuck in the 'what ifs' of life, and this book helped me feel seen."

"Piranesi helped me find beauty in just being alive."

"One of the themes is how one person can make a difference even on a small scale, even if it’s just with the people around them. Being a good person, a kind person, can be enough. You don’t have to do great things or be important. It helped me determine my own personal philosophy of who I want to be. It may have saved my life.

It’s also just a really good book, so I always recommend it."

"I'm glad to see this book has already been recommended. It's what came to my mind first as well. I read it at a difficult time in my life, and it completely shifted my perspective to this day."

"Frodo's exchange with Gandalf about him wishing he had not gotten the ring has helped me a ton throughout my life. The trilogy as a whole is a beautiful meditation on maintaining hope in the face of hopeless situations, while still acknowledging the pain and sadness that come from such times."

"Bonus that the main character is non binary, they/them with no mention of assigned gender at birth. So I felt hugged AND represented. It takes place in a future world where humans have transitioned away from industrialization and now live in harmony with nature, building their homes in the trees and living alongside, not against, the natural world. Immersing in a lush green vision of the future like that is restorative in itself!"

"I recommend it to everyone that feels lost. I re-read it every couple of years."

"I'm currently reading this and came here to suggest it as well. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'll be honest, reading about what people in concentration camps went through makes my own troubles pale in comparison and gives me hope that I can overcome anything. It's been truly inspiring to me, and while this book is not something I can read when I'm not in the right headspace, I keep thinking about it when I'm not reading it. When I'm done, I want to read more about Frankl and logotherapy."

"Honestly, this is not my type of book at all, and under normal circumstances, I probably would’ve found it a little bit campy, but when I read this, I was in a really, really bad place in my life, and I’ll be honest, it was incredibly soothing. I do not regret reading this one. It was lovely."

"I listened to the audiobook version when I started having to travel for a job I absolutely loathed. My dad was in the end stages of early onset alzheimer’s, and all but one of my best friends had silently bowed out of my life. I found myself in the basement of rock bottom, but this book, this painfully poignant book, helped to pull me up and out of the devastating darkness."

"My Year of Rest and Relaxation was so supportive for me in dark times, and I love hearing it touched others. When I try to explain it to people, they look at me like I’m a psycho."