ITT: Books that have had a lasting and obvious direct impact,

File: MarabouStorkNightmares.jpg (21KB, 220x326px) Image search: [Google]

21KB, 220x326px

ITT: Books that have had a lasting and obvious direct impact, positive or negative.

>got raped 5 years ago
>got really fucked up from it but got therapy basically right away b/c I didn't want to postpone it for years and end up a suicidal alcoholic with repression issues and 3 estranged kids at 50 like every fucker else
>still anxious & flashbacks etc kind of creep up on me now and then but nowhere near as bad as it used to be
>starting to not be depressed
>can even have orgasmic sex without it bothering me now, live with partner etc
>Read a lot, always have, currently reading everything Irvine Welsh has ever written
>He writes about Scottish white trash which is gold b/c I am Scottish white trash
>Finished Malibou Stork Nightmares last week
>Near end of the book there's a rape scene
>Spent enough time on the internet that rape images/scenes haven't affected me for many years, and never really bothered me after the incident either
>This one tho
>Making me feel queasy as I'm reading but am immersed in the story & can't put it down
>scene ends & I'm a bit rattled but essentially fine enough to continue reading
>Irvine Welsh is exceptional
>Court scene a little later
>Trying to avoid spoilers but every single sentence made my guts jangle, start crying silently, so fucking angry, memories flooding back
>Can't put the fucking book down, not even temporarily to gain composure, care too much about everything in it
>All dialogue is in Scots which makes everything hit home 10x harder
>A few lines in the story were said to me (or about me) word-for-word, being Scottish this basically never happens in media
>Got pretty emotional, a lot got kicked up
>Imagery of malibou storks eating flamingos throughout the book/protag gets nightmares etc, found that image especially powerful.
>Gets stuck in head, keep thinking about it.
>Book was really pretty fantastic but has literally given me malibou fucking stork nightmares
>Slept on couch 4 times, told bf I'm just too hot b/c summer but he's not an idiot
>Yet to fap or have sex, no desire whatsoever only rage
>I hallucinate when I get low & have felt feathers on me a few times
>I know it'll pass and I'll be fine in maybe a week and so does my boyfriend but fucking hell.

TL;DR Malibou Stork Nightmares induced a minor depressive episode.

I wanna know if anything like this actually happens to other people or if I'm a giant faggot.