Diana Kelley: 3 Books that Changed My Life

A little known book published in the late eighties that I found on a remainder table. The author captured my attention with the very first line: “After Kitty fell out the window I fell into the abyss.” It was a strange, dark searching time in my life and Smith’s book is dark, searching and also laugh out loud funny. His world view and ability to create hilariously absurd but also very real characters made this book a go-to stand by for years. Read this book for the fun of it, for the joy of it – this book makes life better.

Many of us were in a class (or two!) where Huxley’s Brave New World or Doors of Perception were required reading but some of his lesser known books are, in my opinion, better. And the standout for me is Eyeless. As the protagonist Anthony Beavis grows up and becomes an adult he searches for meaning in his life and finds it through a pacifism and mysticism. The quote below took me weeks to parse in a meaningful way and has informed my approach to life and risk management ever since.

“Means determine ends; and must be like the ends proposed. Means intrinsically different from the ends proposed achieve ends like themselves, not like those they were meant to achieve.”

Meat’s never been a favorite food, but as a child and then an adult I did eat meat occasionally and was a vegetarian for years. As a devout animal lover I attempted to become a vegan in the 90s. But a severe sensitivity to soy and nutrition concerns saw me abandoning the vegan life after a couple of years. Reading books like Fast Food Nation and Omnivore’s Dilemma opened my eyes to the horrific brutality of not only the CAFO meat industry but also the dairy and egg factory “farms.” I was mostly vegan but nervous about trying to go 100% vegan again. Slaughterhouse was my tipping point because it made me realize that the only way to stop factory animal abuse is complete veganism. Eisnitz’ book is bold and brave and incredibly well researched. If this book doesn’t make you put down the burger and take off the leather shoes and wool sweaters, nothing will.