Don't know if this coment would be considred art.I have always admired the short story writers, Brete Harte, O.Henry, John Steinbeck and Thorne Smith.
I have been writing short stories for teh years but have never had any published. Have any suggestions.

When I was in high school, I read the book I Never Promised you a Rose Garden. I was in awe of the psychiatrist's ability to help Deborah move through her mental illness. I decided right then that I wanted to be a psychiatrist - to be able to have such a positive impact on someone's life.
My boyfriend at the time laughed at the idea, which of course cemented my goal. I did become a doctor, although a general internist not a pyschiatrist. I reread the book a few years ago and was still impressed with both the psychiatrist and the forward thinking of the author's understanding of the therapeutic process.

As always, Ra Ra Riot is terrific. The book that changed my life was One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I've always loved writing, but I could never grasp what exactly I wanted to write, or how to do it well. It wasn't until I read this book for my high school literary class (and later picking up several of Toni Morrisson and Jorge Luis Borges novels) that I was completely shook up. The book was able to tell a miraculous story of a town, shaping the place as a character itself, and all of the characters within it. I caught myself halfway through the novel thinking to myself, 'I don't care where this story is going or if it ever comes to a logical conclusion,' because I was just enjoying the way it was being told. Marquez has such a beautiful way with words, that it was like poetry and music and art all in one glorious book. Absolute genius. Luckily, the ending proved better than I could ever hope for, and I find myself re-reading it today. A must read.

In 1975, i read breakfast of champions by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and my interpretation of the story changed how i saw myself and others regarding "bad chemicals" in our brain. through the years, i realized that some of my "bad behavior" was rooted in a chemical imbalance brought about by a childhood trauma. i began to feel a lot better about myself and others as humans and i worked to adopt a healthy lifestyle for myself, my son and his father. For years i used our diet to help balance these odd peaks and valleys. It took a lot of work and heartache to get to the point of taking the correct dose of the correct medication to change my brain chemicals to a healthy balance.

super cool to hear the full story from the source! thanks!