I've never been & I'm still not someone whose eyes are exactly faucets. I get a little misty. I'm also not someone who tries to hide it when I am moved to tears. Tears are incredibly healthy. Google it if you're still stuck in some silly preconceived notion that tears are bad or should be withheld. Not being a regular "gusher"
though, I can recall a few times I shed tears fairly clearly. And one of those times was the first time I read Silver on the Tree - the last book of Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series. I was 11 or 12 at the time, and I had never read anything that moved me to tears yet. At the time, I don't know that I could have articulated exactly what it was that moved me to tears. Thinking back 30 years, I can name some of the emotions a little more clearly however. It was the first time I had really gotten into a book series. I was partially sad that the experience was going to be over. I was happy that good had triumphed. The ending was also bittersweet & the separation of friends, mentors, and a good many other things that I don't want to get into without spoiling the book for you; I felt grief, melancholy, hope, faith in the overall goodness of humanity.
If you've never read Susan Cooper's amazing YA fantasy series, do it. It may not move you quite like it did me, but it's worth the read. You know what the ridiculous thing is? I've never read the last 2 books again since that first time. I think I know what my pick will be next time it's my turn on our family reading rotation.
I can say that I've experienced similar feelings in several books since - HP 7, To Kill a Mockingbird, Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities, The Magician's Nephew, Return of the King, King's Warrior, Minstrel's Call. So if you need some more emotional release, any of those are good.
And if you ever really need to just gush... You could watch My Boy Jack with Daniel Radcliffe. Just a little tangent there for you.
So... What was the first book that got your tear ducts going?
Wonder has been on my list for a long time. I guess I'd better get to it this year!
I don't remember crying during a book until I read "Charly" by Jack Weyland. I think I was probably 11 or 12-years-old. I bawled like a baby at the end. I get a little weepy now and then, but rarely do I sob when reading a book. So I was shocked when as an adult, I wept openly at the end of "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio. It wouldn't have been so bad except I was at the local swimming pool while my kids were swimming. I actually had someone come up to me and ask me if I was okay. I told her yes...and that she should definitely read "Wonder". ("Wonder" is actually the book that I recommend to abso…