"I'm Glad I Read It, But I'd Never Read It Again" — 35 Books That Emotionally Wrecked People

"It was a heart shattering book for me. How that book ended was such a plot twist in the best and worst way that it just made me cry and ponder life for a few days. I don’t usually get emotional about a book but this one did it for me."

—sjwww

"Fantastic book. I thought I was handling the subjects of death and loss very well but the last few chapters had me ugly crying at work. Completely heartbroken."

—zaydasky

"I did not expect the ending, bawling my eyes out."

—janiilo

"It had me ugly crying. Especially the ending. I went through almost a whole box of tissues."

—clumsytrout52

"It's about Holocaust survivors who tell their stories. It's fiction but the details are devastating. It's beautifully written and incredibly heartbreaking."

—jeady51

"It’s the memoir of a Canadian general’s experience in the Rwandan Genocide. It’s amazing but so upsetting and disturbing because he now lives with severe PTSD."

—daynam4b6e28fa3

"Just a regular girl trying to make what she can out of life and then it just... Stops. There's no big dramatic ending, there's no closure. It's soul crushing because you know how it ends."

—jessethecowgirl

"It had me crying so hard I had to put it down, because I couldn't see the pages. I'm glad I read it, but I'd never read it again."

—inthewintermoonlight

"This is kind of a middle school/young adult book that wasn't too long at all. It was one that you knew the ending was going to happen, but you didn't want it to. It absolutely broke me."

—ianmiller2

"It is quite frankly the most depressing book ever written."

—lifetheuniverseandeverything

"It's where I finally read the full truth about our horrible mistreatments of Lakota Native Americans over the centuries, and how when the American Indian Movement came to be in the late 1960's it resulted in a needless law enforcement invasion of native land at Oglala, South Dakota in 1975, and a standoff between the FBI & AIM that left an FBI man dead, and resistance leader Leonard Peltier being in prison, where he still is today almost 48 years later. I felt shame and sorrow reading it, and knowing that our dealings with Native Americans has only changed a little since then."

—surprisednugget503

"If anyone one else ever read Under the Willow Tree, you'll know what I mean when I say... WHO HURT YOU?!"

—crafty_gm

"So haunting, especially knowing it’s based on a real disaster."

—cornycrab804

"So many characters are seeking that final conversation with those they love and miss, it’s hard not to feel emotional."

—writingandwonderings

"A devastating portrayal of love and loss in WW1. Beautiful characters living through utter hell."

—lilysophiabeck

"OMG. All I could think about for months after finishing it was that book."

—originalcoyote475

"You need to read the sequel book too! It's from the sister POV and also a tearjerker. it's called All The Broken Places."

—senpainoticedu

"It had me in absolute pieces."

—amylinf1202

"Beautifully written but devastating."

—les00022

"This one broke my heart and made me cry. I've never read a book like it."

—fieldsshannon1740

"It's about pet loss and pre-grief when you know you are losing a pet. Literally from the very first page I was hysterically sobbing."

—cheesebones

"It's a memoir about meeting his wife (Renée Crist) and them falling in love and how she suddenly died from an pulmonary embolism. The passage that sticks out to me is when he was describing how she used to kick his shins in her sleep and with her absence they still physically hurt. I only read the book once and it's been about 16 years, but Jesus tap dancing Christ was it beautiful."

—gracelee32

"It had me crying on the subway. Robert of Gloucester's daughter makes it to her his deathbed just in time for him to meet his first grandchild before expiring. My father died before I could get to the airport."

—annab4fef789d4

"It tackles difficult and sensitive topics (the immigrant experience, sexuality, mental health, drug abuse) through a series of letters from the author to his mother in the most gut-wrenchingly poetic way. It actually took me months to finish it because I would get too overwhelmed by the way the author would paint a devastating scene, describe an intimate memory, or just splay out his intrusive thoughts onto the page like a bloodstain with his sharply honed words each time I picked up the damn book. Bloody gorgeous writing but it's such a shattering read."

—ravenbard

"It's the only correct answer. Big Dan and Little Ann... Just typing their names I'm crying."

—seekyou

"This world is cursed and nothing can redeem it."

—johnny_feng

"All those watching the show who haven't read the book: first you're going to sob, then you're going to be *pissed* at the author for taking you on that journey."

—katies1957fiat

"OMG when I got to the end and read the last line I was a wreck! After going through this journey with Charlie and his little mouse, only for him to revert, I couldn't deal. I was bawling like a baby and trying not to make noise or attract attention. Such a great book. But so, so sad."

—tmar_of_vulcan

"I've never had the courage to go back and read it again."

—paulh55

"One of my favourite authors ever. This book is about a 13-year-old girl growing up in Montreal with a heroin addict father who is just a kid himself. Her prose is like poetry. It's beautiful and devastating and tragic and hopeful."

—echo224

"Just when I thought I couldn't be any more surprised at the ending, the last few pages gutted me. I stared at the wall for a while after that one."

—sillychair22

"I wasn’t much of reader until this year but that book gave me a book hangover for days."

—fashiongirl102

"It is a story about a teenager after she attempts suicide. Nothing ever quite spoke to me about my own experiences with depression as this magnificent book that never gets a mention in these kinds of lists."

—fullmetalalchy

"I've never had a book absolutely and truly break my heart before or since. The ending left me feeling both numb and weepy all at once. I ended up taking a hiatus from reading while I healed. I'm not kidding. I love this book. It's still sitting on my shelf, but I'll never re-read it."

—mandika5222

"Backstory: It's about a girl named Jess who's dad died years ago, and due to grief and being the only queer kid at her school, she gets into a lot of fights and has to go to therapy. Then when she starts high school it's okay, because the freshman are in a separate wing from the rest of the grades, and she has anger management skills now. Starting sophomore year, her therapist moved away and she's scared, but she falls in love with a girl named Vivi who loves birds. They begin to date, and one tragic night two years later, Vivi dies from a flu-like sickness, complicated by her athsma.

It's absolutely heartbreaking and so meaningful. I lost my best friend (to gun violence) three and a half years ago and never really began accepting it or dealing with it in a healthy way until I read this book. I've read it 13 times and I still cry every single time because Vivi reminds me so much of Sebastian, and I see myself in Jess, and the lake scene has me sobbing every time. it's beautiful and heartwrenching and there are no plot twists or dramatic anythings really, it's an easy read but will leave you feeling like someone hollowed out your heart and placed it back in with more love. 100000/10 recommend."

—im_dead_inside_taylors_version

"I was crying buckets by the end."

—blackbird68

"Oh my gosh this book destroyed me."

—cheesebones

"The account of his time as a young person in Nazi death camps with his father —who was beaten to death in front of him —is something that will never leave you. It’s a very, VERY hard text to navigate but I think it should be required reading."

—applesauceandchops