Sometimes a good ‘ole ugly cry is all you need to cleanse the soul. And sometimes, the only way to do so is through a tear jerking book. A book that will leave you weeping (the ugly kind). Here is a list that left mascara and snot dripping down my face over the years. I’ve ranked them in order of tearing up to literally sobbing, in public, while reading.
THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS BY M.L. STEDMAN
I’ve written about this book before, and how touchingly beautiful it is. Miscarriages, stillbirths, and how far a man will go for love and his family. Ahh, so great. I still need to go see the movie!
ME BEFORE YOU BY JOJO MOYES
I may get seriously shamed for saying this, but I didn’t love this book as much as everyone else did. Sure, it was great, and very touching. But I found myself struggling to get through it. Obviously the ending was dynamite (and by that I mean, very weepy), but I wasn’t over the moon with it…
THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE BY AUDREY NIFFENEGGER
I read this in college. You may have realized that romance isn’t my primary go-to for novel choice — it’s murder / psychological thriller. But this love story, the one in The Time Traveler’s Wife is one that I am so found of. The casting of Rachel McAdams in the movie was just a brilliant selection.
WE WERE LIARS BY E. LOCKHART
This is a YA Novel, about a horrific incident that occurred the previous summer. A wealthy family, with it’s own private island, resentments brewing, and suffocated by greed. Four teenage cousins seek to set things right, but end up going oh so wrong. I thought the ending was mind-blowing, and left me crying in the waiting room of my acupuncturist two winters ago. (Sorry, Dr. J.)
A LITTLE LIFE BY HANYA YANAGIHARA
This was a depressing book, but the writing was electrifying, and addicting, and stunning. I finished reading this book over the summer, and still think about it on a semi-regular basis. It’s one of those books that really sticks with you.
STILL ALICE BY LISA GENOVA
The crippling effects that Alzheimers has on not only the individual, but the immediate family members as well. I read this back in college, and still think about it. (Probably because the movie was recently released, but still.) Also, I just checked out Genova’s latest novel, Inside the O’Briens from the library, which is on my fall reading list. Will report back and let you know how it is!
ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE BY ANTHONY DOERR
This was one of the most beautiful books I’ve read in a long time. The imaginary was vibrant, gorgeous, and left me weeping for a blind Parisian girl, and a teenage German solider. Worlds apart, in the midst of WWII. Not a love story, really, it goes much deeper than that. Rumor has it that a movie may be in the pipeline…. YAAAS!
THE NIGHTINGALE BY KRISTIN HANNAH
Two sisters in German occupied France in the 1940s, I have the chills just thinking about this book. A must read if you’re into historical fiction, WWII, and have a slight obsession with the Holocaust as I do.
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS BY JOHN GREEN
Oh lord this really touched me. There is something about cancer intertwined into a teenage love story that’ll get me every time. The movie did a pretty excellent job from book to screen too.
MY SISTERS KEEPER BY JODI PICOULT
This book came out in 2005, which is when I read it, and still think about. Obviously saw and loved the movie, and cried even harder. Childhood cancer, and the love a mother has with her daughter. So beautiful. I’m tearing up just thinking about this one. I can’t bring myself to read another Jodi Picoult, but maybe, 11 years later, it’s time?
Are there any others that left you, my fellow bookworm, in tears that I haven’t added to this list?
PS. yes, I left The Notebook off this list only because I haven’t read the book — just seen the movie!