137: The Book That Changed Your Life

About this episode

The episode explores how various books have impacted people's lives in profound ways.

We want to believe our lives can be changed by the ideas contained in a book. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription. Prologue: When Alexa was seven, she started going through her grandfather's books. Her grandfather was a playwright and teacher, and through the books—and especially through his notes in the margins—she entered the world of 1930's American theater. And she found a book that changed her life: writer Moss Hart's autobiography Act One. (5 minutes) Act One: More of Alexa Junge and how Moss Hart's autobiography changed her life. She followed his path, learned specific lessons, and had a vision of him that was absolutely clear—until she met his widow. (10 minutes) Act Two: A book that changed a family's life—temporarily, and not for the better. David Sedaris on what happened when he found a dirty book in the woods and passed it along to his sisters. (9 minutes) Act Three: Reporter Jeremy Goldstein tells the story of a man who had many books change his life, even though he'd never read them. (14 minutes) Act Four: Writer Meghan Daum travels to De Smet, South Dakota—where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived and set most of her Little House…

People in this episode

Host: This American Life

Guests: Alexa Junge, David Sedaris, Jeremy Goldstein, Meghan Daum

Topics covered

• books
• life-changing experiences
• family dynamics
• theater
• American culture
• literature

Keywords

• life-changing books
• Moss Hart
• David Sedaris
• family
• theater
• literature
• Laura Ingalls Wilder

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Act One, Little House

Places: De Smet, South Dakota

More episodes of This American Life

• 888: Not Today, Hades! · June 7, 2026 · 59 min
• 676: Here’s Looking at You, Kid · May 24, 2026 · 1h 3m
• 887: Two Is One, One Is None! · May 17, 2026 · 1h 1m
• 886: Blackout · May 3, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Ira (Reluctantly) Gives a Graduation Speech · May 1, 2026 · 8 min
• 466: Blackjack · April 26, 2026 · 1h 5m