Richard Wright, in his essay "Discovering Books," explains how reading books changed his outlook on life and eventually his life itself. The first book that widened his horizons was an overtly controversial book by H. L. Mencken. I have a story not so dissimilar from his. Coming out of High School, I had in my possession the perspective that I knew everything. So I started, straight off the bat, working in a variety of menial jobs, which would have lead me to a dead end, for as the good jobs in today's society required college degrees. So, after working for...
causing her to have a reaction formation that disguised her hatred as love.

My reading of psychology book had created a vast sense of understanding a general outlook on life, living, and interaction with different people. It had given me a sense of connecting with other people. The textbook changed my narrow, "holier than thou," pre-college mindset, to an analytical listener, able to reason and diagnose other people's perspectives, no matter how screwed-up they may be. Without the religion of psychology, I would be adrift in the present, in the wreckage of yesterday, and in the nightmare of tomorrow.