The Martian

This book lifted me up in my darkest times.

A quirky biologist, stranded far away from any civilization, probably doomed to death, having calculated the exact number of days his food will last, has the greatest day ever:

He realized that peeing on the soil will give his small potato farm just enough nutrients to thrive.

I don't remember if that scene actually happened in the book, but it truly captures how I felt reading it: In awe at how happy and resilient the protagonist is and how even in our darkest times, we feel joy from little things like peeing on dirt.

It's a wonderful book and one of my favorites just because of how it made me feel. I highly recommend it!