We are so excited to dedicate this week’s bonus Inspired By to Cherilynn Veland, LCSW, MSW, author of Stop Giving it Away. Here she shares the five books that inspired her to be an author. 

Plan B: Further Thoughts On Faith by Anne Lamott

This book a friend gave me to borrow. I was lukewarm on the prospect of reading a book about faith. I have a great spiritual faith but had yet to enjoy a book written about it! At least until I read Anne. I laughed so hard and felt embraced by her warmth, irreverence, and her willingness to own her “stuff”. Her writing is honest, vulnerable, and connects. Her writing frees me from being so hard on myself. This frees me to write.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

I read this book when I was 12. The main character, Francie, is my same age and is growing up in the early 1900’s in the tenements of Brooklyn. Francie is an avid reader with the world’s struggles pressing against her. The writer does a wonderful job bringing you into Francie’s challenging life as the child of immigrants with imperfect parents. You root for her success all the way. I have adored all of this writer’s books.

The Making of A Woman Surgeon by Elizabeth Morgan, M.D.

This book came out in the 80’s. I read this in my teens because I was contemplating medical school. This memoir is about the challenges of being one of the first female surgeons admitted into Yale medical school. Days without sleep, being sent to a psychiatrist for simply wanting to be a surgeon, it was an intriguing and eye opening look into what the author had to go through to get what she wanted. I knew I didn’t want to be a surgeon after that, but writing about it seemed great.

The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute To His White Mother by James McBride

Beautiful book about a writer’s experience having been raised as a poor, African American in the projects with a Jewish, Caucasian mother. James McBride’s writing is lyrical, sweet, gracious and completely without self-pity. One of the most gorgeous books I have ever read.

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

A friend gave me this book when I was in grad school for social work. I still have it and it is inscribed, “A book every social worker should have.” I had no idea what she was talking about at the time….LOL! The book was about taking care of ourself in a world demanding that we take care of it. A shift towards writing my book, “Stop Giving It Away” had begun.