15 Sad Books that Will Emotionally Wreck You

This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living?

Set in Jaffa in between 1947 and 1951, this “fable-like historical novel of young love … darkly humorous and touching” (Oprah Daily) is based on a true story during the beginning of the destruction of Palestine and displacement of its people.

A heartrending novel based on a true story of love, loyalty, and the limits we confront when our deepest values are tested, by award-winning writer Buzzy Jackson.

A special 25th-anniversary edition of the beloved book that has changed millions of lives with the story of an unforgettable friendship, the timeless wisdom of older generations, and healing lessons on loss and grief.

A gripping memoir on friendship, grief, the search for self, and the solace that can be found through art, by the New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu. A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging.

A story as timely today as when it was first published, Khaled Hosseini gives voice to two women living in Afghanistan as they face challenges both in the streets of Kabul, as well as inside their own homes. Even though these women are from two different generations, the battles they face are the same, and only in each other will they find the strength to keep moving forward.

An enchanting novel about Ro, a woman tossed overboard by heartbreak and loss, who has to find her way back to stable shores with the help of a giant Pacific octopus at the mall aquarium where she works.

In the spirit of Colleen Hoover and Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You, an unforgettable and heartbreaking love story with an earth-shattering secret at its core that asks the question: is love worth risking everything for?

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

When a plane crashes mid-flight, twelve-year-old Edward is the sole survivor. In the face of such profound loss, Edward must make the choice to pick up the pieces and move forward. With beautiful illuminating prose, Ann Napolitano has managed to create a book that is at turns heartbreaking and funny. It is a book about grief, but it centers on hope.

Lorrie Moore’s first novel since A Gate at the Stairs — a daring, meditative exploration of love and death, passion and grief, and what it means to be haunted by the past, both by history and the human heart.

This stunning book from the author of Homegoing, focuses on Gifty, a PhD candidate studying depression and addiction. Reeling from the overdose of her brother, she aims to find answers in her studies, but she is also pulled into the evangelical church she grew up in. Gifty finds herself at the crossroads where the mysteries of God collide with scientific fact.

From bestselling author Sabaa Tahir comes a brilliant, unforgettable, and heart-wrenching contemporary novel about family and forgiveness, love and loss, in a sweeping story that crosses generations and continents.

This gorgeous debut novel is written as a letter from a son to his mother, who cannot read. It is a coming-of-age story about growing up as an immigrant in America and about finding and holding on to one’s identity. Written with beautiful and poetic language, this book will leave a lasting impression.

With her celebrated humor, insight, and heart, beloved New York Times bestseller Emma Straub offers her own twist on traditional time travel tropes and a different kind of love story.

A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common — a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century.