Episode
137: The Book That Changed Your Life
- Podcast
- This American Life
- Published
- May 31, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3582
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
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 books. What surprises her is how much it matches what she'd imagined. The people there seem to be genuinely living by the values Laura wrote about. (15 minutes) Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org This American Life privacy policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices. 🎬 SEE THE STORY UNFOLD: Want to see the original photos, documents, and the faces behind this week's acts? 👇 View the visual archive for this episode here: https://goo.su/XwNQm (Updated for each story)