What Book Has Inspired You the Most?

I started reading Anne Frank's diary when I was a teenager, and the book has had a profound
effect on my life. It's one of those books that you can't forget, and it changed my outlook on the
world forever. What struck me the most about her diary was how normal she felt to me - like I
knew her personally and like we were friends, despite never having met.

Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl living in Amsterdam during World War II. At the age of 13,
she and her family went into hiding to escape the Nazis, and they were eventually discovered
and sent to concentration camps by the Nazis. Anne Frank died of typhus at age 15 in Bergen-
Belsen. After the war, her father, Otto Frank, had her diary published, telling of their time in
hiding and how it transformed Anne from an introverted teenager to a young woman filled with
hope and faith that she could survive against impossible odds. Anne's voice remains one of the
most eloquent expressions of human belief and resilience ever recorded.

Anne's diary also has a lot of other great qualities. It's beautiful, moving, and often funny work
written from a teenager's perspective as she writes about her life as an adolescent. How could
such a simple story be so good? According to international bestselling author and Anne Frank
biographer Francois Mitterand, Anne "reminds us that what we think is special about life is that it
is shared with those we love; that we are alive and free despite all the controls society places
upon us and despite our fear and loneliness."

It doesn't take much to understand why this small book has such an impact on people. Even in
today's world where needless suffering is still a problem, it talks about the goodness of people.
It shows how to be strong and optimistic under intolerable circumstances. And above all, it
shows that even when you're facing unimaginable despair, life is still worth living.

Anne's diary reminds me how to look at life from almost a childish perspective – to be far more
open and positive – because things could always be worse. She had a lot of problems – but
there were hardly any times she felt helpless or hopeless. And that's an invaluable lesson for
us, especially teenagers who often feel discouraged by all the bad things that happen around
them.

I know it's only a book, but Anne's diary is a reminder that life is full of great things, even when
bad things are going on all around you.
Sources:

Reporter, G. S. (2017, September 20). Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank –
review. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-
site/2015/sep/28/anne-frank-the-diary-of-a-young-girl-anne-frank-review