The novel that changed my life was Jane Eyre. I was about 12, living in the midwest and feeling like I didn't belong. I was overweight and had moved into a town where I didn't know a lot of people. We weren't rich. I read a lot but most book protagonists were boys or men. Then I picked up this novel where the protagonist is a girl (then a woman); she is poor and orphaned and doesn't fit in. But because of her intellect and desire to succeed, she travels, meets interesting people and marries the love of her life against all odds.
The book made me feel like I could do whatever I set out to do. Later I left the small town, went to a good liberal arts college, moved to a big city, got a law degree and married the love of my life after a failed marriage.
I'll be married 30 years this summer, have a career I love, travel a lot and have two fabulous adult children. So I attribute a lot of that to the empowerment I felt when I read Jane Eyre.
Sorry for the weird introduction
Just say hi again 
