The books that CHANGED MY LIFE

Cathy Rentzenbrink

Cathy Rentzenbrink is the author of five books, including Write It All Down. She shares the books that have made her laugh, cry and think…

THE LAST BOOK THAT MADE ME LAUGH

One of my comfort reads is Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe and I often pick it up for a quick treat. It’s a warm book – a collection of letters sent home by a nanny – and it always makes me laugh out loud even though

I already know all the jokes.

THE LAST BOOK THAT MADE ME CRY

I sobbed over Rob Delaney’s memoir

A Heart That Works, about the death of his son, because he puts his experience on the page with such tenderness. But it’s also very funny in places, so I was laughing one minute and crying the next – a bit like you do in life.

THE BOOK THAT GOT ME THROUGH A DIFFICULT TIME

When things go badly wrong, I turn to Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael novels. I love these gentle detective stories about a monk in Shrewsbury. They help me hold steady; remind me that I have survived before, that it’s okay to retrench and hibernate for a while, and there will – eventually – be more life to be lived.

THE BOOK THAT CHANGED THE WAY I THINK

In Grief Works, Julia Samuel talks about how grief is a tug of war between the pain of loss and the instinct to survive. When I read that, I finally understood why the grief I felt over the death of my brother had felt like such a painful zigzagging between despair and hope.

THE BOOK I MOST OFTEN GIVE TO OTHERS

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi is a doctor-turnedpatient memoir that takes us right up to death and shows both the fragility and preciousness of life. The writing is beautiful and the whole book feels like a wondrous gift.