Going through a slightly tumultuous childhood, I became a young adult who didn’t really believe in herself.  I suffered from periods of crippling self doubt and depression taking refuge in relationships with men that were controlling and abusive, both mentally and emotionally. I constantly felt abandoned and alone with no sight of a future ahead unless I was following somebody else.  That was until I started working at the company I am still at today and met one of the most profound mentors of my life.  He taught me to believe in myself and to trust in my own thought. That knowledge is power and I should never stop learning or stop trying to get the things I believed in.  He gave me a book that truly changed my life and all in a moment, I understood how amazing I was and how much control I have over my own life.  It is sacred to me, as so much of who I was and who I will be lies within those pages. That book is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and it is the most precious possession I own.