For me, it was a book called ‘The Outsiders’ by S.E Hinton. It is known as a literary classic these days, but it was quite hard hitting when it was released back in the 1960s.
In a nut shell; It is about a group of semi-impoverished greaser friends growing up in 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma, and all the life challenges they face, and how they react to prejudice against them whilst coping with family issues.
It was the first book that made me realise that some people in society don’t get it easy growing up, and I discovered what it meant to live on the ‘wrong side of town’ and what societal prejudice was. The outsiders was the first novel I read that brought up hard subjects like; domestic violence, alcoholism, street gang violence etc.
It was the first book to shatter my naive way of thinking about the world, at 13 years old! It is still one of my favourite stories to this day, and for all its slightly dark themes, I love the compassionate friendship and brotherhood that is displayed in this book!
“The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” by Ken Kesey. I was about 15, in 1983 or so. I’d been raised by old-school Republicans who thought Ronald Reagan was the second coming; I’d absorbed all that “say no to drugs” rhetoric and was like why would anyone in their right mind DO drugs, because they’re so clearly dangerous.
And then I got hold of TEKAT somehow, and devoured it, and was like oh I get it drugs are FUN and can change your perception of the world. I didn’t run out and do drugs or anything—I was 18 before I drank or smoked weed—but what it clued me into was the sheer prevalence of propaganda, disinformation and just straight-up bullying in conservative rhetoric, all designed to keep people in line and unquestioningly obedient.