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J.K. Rowling Celebrates Harry Potter's 20th With A Perfect Tweet

No, thank YOU.
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Monday marks 20 years since the publication of the first book in a series that would change the world: J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter.” On this day in 1997, Bloomsbury published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the U.K., and soon the entire world fell in love with The Boy Who Lived.

No one, it seems, is more grateful and overjoyed to celebrate this anniversary than Rowling, the woman who gave us “Potter.” She took to Twitter on Monday morning to thank her readers in a heartfelt post, writing, “20 years ago today a world that I had lived in alone was suddenly open to others. It’s been wonderful. Thank you.”

20 years ago today a world that I had lived in alone was suddenly open to others. It's been wonderful. Thank you.#HarryPotter20

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2017

What’s that? Oh, just some dust in our eyes.

Though the books made her a billionaire, at least for a time, Rowling was a struggling single mother when the idea for “Harry Potter” came to her. The author has made it a priority to give back through charity and through her engagement with the public, often on Twitter, where she speaks out on political issues and sometimes even answers fans’ burning questions about the books.

Of course Rowling’s life has been completely transformed by the wizarding world she dreamed up ― but as other messages on the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter” reveal, she’s far from the only one. Other authors, celebrities and fans toasted her powerful contribution to the literary world on social media:

Congratulations to @jk_rowling on #HarryPotter20. It's got to be a nice feeling, knowing you've made the world better with your work.

— John Scalzi (@scalzi) June 26, 2017

thank you for telling us about the secret train to your world

— John Hodgman (@hodgman) June 26, 2017

I wouldn't be who I am or where I am today if it wasn't for a boy in a cupboard under the stairs. Thank you, @jk_rowling #HarryPotter20 pic.twitter.com/Voyl0oBn9F

— Meg V. Jones (@ItsMegNotMegan) June 26, 2017

#HarryPotter20 these books and this punch changed my life. Hermione has always been my hero ... pic.twitter.com/r6yd0Efjus

— LaurenNY-7🔸🔹🐾 (@AaliyahNevaeh7) June 26, 2017

Happy birthday Harry Potter!!! Thank you @jk_rowling for 20 years of magic and shaping imaginations across the globe! #HarryPotter20

— Carrie Hope Fletcher (@CarrieHFletcher) June 26, 2017

Hogwarts has changed my teaching career. Countless students remember their love of reading, thanks to a boy who lived. Thank you.

— Janin Spoor (@JaninSpoor) June 26, 2017

Some even confessed that the “Harry Potter” books saved them in difficult times ― when dealing with divorce, an abusive situation, mental health issues or grieving a loved one:

Harry Potter has gotten me through my parent's divorce, bullying, depression, sexual assault and PTSD. I have no words to thank you

— Lauren Ingram (@laureningram) June 26, 2017

Thank you! Just going to leave this love letter to your books (and Cho Chang) here: https://t.co/yJk4SqcpqY

— David Levesley (@DJFLevesley) June 26, 2017

And now I'm teary eyed because Harry Potter, and waiting for that letter, in many ways saved my life. So, thank you. Always. #HarryPotter20

— Patrice Caldwell (@whimsicallyours) June 26, 2017

HP created another world for me that helped me escape the abuse in my real one and my God, I cannot thank @jk_rowling enough #HarryPotter20

— Ofkofi (@_SheIsPoison) June 26, 2017

I found #HarryPotter20 in the darkest moment of post-cancer depression. Harry literally saved my life.

— VIVA LA BISEXUAL REP (@Jennirrific) June 26, 2017

No need to wait for our Hogwarts acceptance letters anymore ― that’s real magic.

Thank you, J.K. Rowling.

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