Oprah Shares the Books That Changed Her Life

When I want to seek higher ground, I open a book.

Over the course of my lifetime, books have helped me know that I'm not alone, even when I'm at my loneliest. They've given me the words to articulate what I held in my heart but could not express. They have loosened the constraints of tradition, of narrow-mindedness, enabling me to grow as a person, an entrepreneur, and a teacher—the role I cherish most. This magazine's founding mission was to help people live their best lives. Without a doubt, books are essential to mine.

When I launched O, I dreamed it would reinvent the women's magazine and become a manual for living, helping readers cultivate their optimal selves from the inside out. Because authors are my rock stars, I wanted their work to fire our imagination, give us the tools to be stronger and better in the world, and invite us to see through the eyes of another. Every page of every new book can open us up to a new universe—I wanted us to have that experience together.

In O's Reading Room section and throughout the magazine, my intention was that we would be a source for discovering fresh voices. Yes, I wanted to share the words and wisdom of writers I had come to know and love, but my greatest excitement is in finding new authors and introducing them to others. I wanted to replicate for our readers the thrill and the awe I've felt in those moments when writers who would become my spiritual guides first came into my life.

Read the full story on Oprah Daily: Oprah Shares the Books That Changed Her Life