I love Don Quixote obviously. I find the symbolism to be something I can regularly latch onto as a way to describe things in my life. On the same note, I reread Waiting for the Barbarians by Coetzee for the same reason.
Waiting for the Barbarians is a great start. It is a good read + it works as a great analogy that can be brought up when talking to people who let fear run their lives.