I read Flowers for Algernon a year ago, and it completely changed how I viewed mentally ill people. I no longer find it funny to laugh at their expense, but now always try to be better.
The first time I read the part where >!Charlie gets abandoned by his friends, and doesn’t truly grasp that he’d been abandoned as a joke, but thinks they accidentally went off!<, I remember feeing like I got punched in the gut. I was not always a good person, and finally understood how unfair I’ve been to people I thought lesser than me.
The dread that book gave me, and how it altered my views on mental illness will forever be something I’m grateful for. The author created a masterful book, and I’m glad it’s as beloved as it is.
It’s pretty corny, but I think the book changed me. Who else relates?
by VoxPopuliVS