I actually watched the movie first on video, sometime in the early 1990s, and found it intriguing enough for its iconoclastic view of human creativity, but it really didn't connect.
Then my first-born was diagnosed with an advanced-stage cancer at two
years of age, and after a few months of heavy drinking, I recomposed myself as father and re-engaged the subsequent battle more fully (as my wife had to step back due to her pregnancy). During that epic year, I got ahold of the book and read it like my life depended on it.
I won't tell you I'm a Howard Roark or anything. I will just say that this book, along with a couple of others, really saved my life back then.
Upon reading it, I also knew that someday I would write fiction.
I guess the book's primary impact was that it made me feel proud to be me, no matter who didn't understand what being me was all about.
Toward that end, I was reborn as a writer and thinker from Emily's long struggle, beginning with "The Emily Updates" that I currently am reworking with Warren for eventual publication.