Adventure Travel Memoirs

Updated June 6, 2026
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Wild : from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Strayed, Cheryl
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe--and built her back up again. A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century At...
Spirit run : a 6,000-mile marathon through North America's stolen land
?lvarez, No
Paper Book
In this New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, the son of working-class Mexican immigrants flees a life of labor in fruit-packing plants to run in a Native American marathon from Canada to Guatemala in this "stunning memoir that moves to the rhythm of feet, labor, and the many...
A walk in the park : the true story of a spectacular misadventure in the Grand Canyon
Fedarko, Kevin
Paper Book
* Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award in Outdoor Literature * Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction * Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Air Mail, Smithsonian Magazine, and Financial Times "A...
Blue highways : a journey into America
Heat Moon, William Least.
Paper Book
Bicycling with butterflies : my 10,201-mile journey following the monarch migration
Dykman, Sara
Paper Book
Winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award Sara Dykman made history when she became the first person to bicycle alongside monarch butterflies on their storied annual migration--a round-trip adventure that included three countries and more than 10,000 miles....
A walk in the woods : rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
Bryson, Bill
Paper Book
The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America-majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you're going to take a hike, it's probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide you'll...
Wandering in strange lands : a daughter of the Great Migration reclaims her roots
Jerkins, Morgan
Paper Book
One of TIME's 100 Must Read Books of 2020 and one of Good Housekeeping's Best Books of the Year "One of the smartest young writers of her generation."--Book Riot From New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing Morgan Jerkins, a powerful story of her journey to...
Eat, pray, love : one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia
Gilbert, Elizabeth
Paper Book
One of the most iconic, beloved, and bestselling books of our time. This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success...
The ride of her life : the true story of a woman, her horse, and their last-chance journey across America
Letts, Elizabeth
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER .The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Horse and The Eighty-Dollar Champion presents a "heartwarming and engaging folk-hero biography" (Kirkus Reviews) of a woman who fulfilled her lifelong wish to see the Pacific Ocean by riding...
The lost city of the Monkey God
Preston, Douglas J.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Named one of the best books of the year by The Boston Globe and National Geographic. An acclaimed journalist takes readers on a true...
In a sunburned country
Bryson, Bill.
Paper Book
Every time Bill Bryson walks out the door memorable travel literature threatens to break out. His previous excursion up, down, and over the Appalachian Trail (well, most of it) resulted in the sublime national bestseller A Walk in the Woods. Now he has traveled across the world and all the way Down...
Thirty below : the harrowing and heroic story of the first all-women's ascent of Denali
Randall, Cassidy
Paper Book
The gripping story of a group of female adventurers and their treacherous pioneering ascent of Denali. Excerpted in Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and Men's Journal, and named one of the most noteworthy books of the month by the Washington Post ...
Nowhere for very long : the unexpected road to an unconventional life
Madia, Brianna
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * USA TODAY! BESTSELLER In this beautifully written, vividly detailed memoir, a young woman chronicles her adventures traveling across the deserts of the American West in an orange van named...
Tracks : a woman's solo trek across 1,700 miles of Australian outback
Davidson, Robyn
Paper Book
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE Robyn Davidson's opens the memoir of her perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company with the following words: "I experienced that sinking feeling you get when you know...
North : finding my way while running the Appalachian Trail
Jurek, Scott
Paper Book
From the author of the bestseller Eat and Run, a thrilling memoir about his grueling, exhilarating, and immensely inspiring 46-day run to break the speed record for the Appalachian Trail. Scott Jurek is one of the world's best known and most beloved ultrarunners....
Welcome to the goddamn ice cube : chasing fear and finding home in the great white north
Braverman, Blair
Paper Book
A rich and revelatory memoir of a young woman reclaiming her courage in the stark landscapes of the north. By the time Blair Braverman was eighteen, she had left her home in California, moved to arctic Norway to learn to drive sled dogs, and found work as a tour guide on a glacier in...
Enough : climbing toward a true self on Mount Everest
Reid, Melissa Arnot
Paper Book
A searching, uplifting memoir by the celebrated, groundbreaking climber: a journey of overcoming where the mountain's highest peaks can only be reached by traversing the dark crevasses of the soul At twenty-seven, when Melissa Arnot Reid accepted a tank of oxygen just short of...
Dark star safari : overland from Cairo to Cape Town
Theroux, Paul.
Paper Book
In the travel-writing tradition that made Paul Theroux's reputation, Dark Star Safari is a rich and insightful book whose itinerary is Africa, from Cairo to Cape Town: down the Nile, through Sudan and Ethiopia, to Kenya, Uganda, and ultimately to the tip of South Africa. Going by train, dugout...
The catch me if you can : one woman's journey to every country in the world
Nabongo, Jessica
Paper Book
In this inspiring travelogue, celebrated traveler and photographer Jessica Nabongo―the first Black woman on record to visit all 195 countries in the world―shares her journey around the globe with fascinating stories of adventure, culture, travel musts, and human connections. ...
Tales of a female nomad : living at large in the world
Gelman, Rita Golden.
Paper Book
There's more than one way to do life. In a small cemetery deep in the jungle of Borneo, two men climb into a freshly dug hole and retrieve the bones of a long-dead grandmother. An American guest joins the procession from the cemetery to the elaborately decorated village square for a traditional...
The Amur River : between Russia and China
Thubron, Colin
Paper Book
"A gripping read with fascinating political insight." (Sunday Times, London) "Elegant, elegiac and poignant...Thubron is an intrepid traveler, a shrewd observer and a lyrical guide... to the river, much of it along the border between these two powers at a time of rapid and tense...
The good girl's guide to getting lost : a memoir of three continents, two friends, and one unexpected adventure
Friedman, Rachel
Paper Book
Rachel Friedman has always been the consummate good girl who does well in school and plays it safe, so the college grad surprises no one more than herself when, on a whim (and in an effort to escape impending life decisions), she buys a ticket to Ireland, a place she has never visited. There she...
Dogtripping : 25 rescues, 11 volunteers, and 3 RVs on our canine cross-country adventure
Rosenfelt, David.
Paper Book
David Rosenfelt'sDogtripping is moving and funny account of a cross-country move from California to Maine, and the beginnings of a dog rescue foundation When mystery writer David Rosenfelt and his family moved from Southern California to Maine, he thought he had prepared for...
Blood river : a journey to Africa's broken heart
Butcher, Tim
Paper Book
Published to rave reviews in the United Kingdom and named a Richard & Judy Book Club selection--the only work of nonfiction on the 2008 list--Blood River is the harrowing and audacious story of Tim Butcher's journey in the Congo and his retracing of renowned explorer H. M. Stanley's...
The last ride of the Pony Express : my 2,000-mile horseback journey into the Old West
Grant, Will
Paper Book
USA Today bestseller!  Cowboy and journalist Will Grant takes us on an epic and authentic horseback journey into the modern West on an adventure of a lifetime, boldly illuminating both our mythic fascination with the Pony Express, and how its spirit...
In the shadow of the mountain : a memoir of courage
Vasquez-Lavado, Silvia
Paper Book
"In climbing the Seven Summits, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado did nothing less than take back her own life--one brave step at a time. She will inspire untold numbers of souls with this story, for her victory is a win on behalf of all of us."--Elizabeth Gilbert Endless ice. Thin air....
Walking to listen : 4,000 miles across America, one story at a time
Forsthoefel, Andrew
Paper Book
A memoir of one young man's coming of age on a journey across America--told through the stories of the people of all ages, races, and inclinations he meets along the way. Life is fast, and I've found it's easy to confuse the miraculous for the mundane, so I'm slowing down,...
A Paris year : my day-to-day adventures in the most romantic city in the world
MacLeod, Janice
Paper Book
Part memoir and part visual journey through the streets of modern-day Paris, France, A Paris Year chronicles, day by day, one woman's French sojourn in the world's most beautiful city. Beginning on her first day in Paris, Janice MacLeod, the author of the best-selling book, Paris Letters,<...
Before they're gone : a family's year-long quest to explore America's most endangered national parks
Lanza, Michael.
Paper Book
A longtime backpacker, climber, and skier, Michael Lanza knows our national parks like the back of his hand. As a father, he hopes to share these special places with his two young children. But he has seen firsthand the changes wrought by the warming climate and understands what lies ahead: Alaska's...
No barriers (The young adult adaptation) : a blind man's journey to kayak the Grand Canyon
Weihenmayer, Erik
Paper Book
2018 Colorado Book Awards finalist in the Creative Nonfiction and National Bestseller and Honorable Mention Award Winner in the Outdoor Literature category of the 2017 National Outdoor Book Awards (NOBA) -- "A beautiful book about family and finding a way to achieve more...
All the way to the tigers : a memoir
Morris, Mary
Paper Book
One of NPR's Best Books of the Year From the author of Nothing to Declare, a moving travel narrative examining healing, redemption, and what it means to be a solo woman on the road. In February 2008, a casual afternoon of ice skating derailed the trip of a...
Fast into the night : a woman, her dogs, and their journey north on the Iditarod Trail
Moderow, Debbie Clarke
Paper Book
A captivating memoir of one woman's attempt to finish the Iditarod, led by her team of spunky huskies with whom she shares a fascinating and inextricable bond At age forty-seven, a mother of two, Debbie Moderow was not your average musher in the Iditarod, but...
Moms who hike : walking with America's most inspiring adventurers
Rochfort, Heather Balogh
Paper Book
Moms Who Hike celebrates the athleticism, wisdom, and skill of over twenty of America's most inspiring adventurer mothers ranging from legends to rising stars of today. The book is both inspirational and aspirational as each adventurer tells her story in her own words through featuring their...
Halfway to Heaven : my white-knuckled--and knuckle-headed--quest for the Rocky Mountain high
Obmascik, Mark.
Paper Book
Fat, forty-four, father of three sons, and facing a vasectomy, Mark Obmascik would never have guessed that his next move would be up a 14,000-foot mountain. But when his twelve-year-old son gets bitten by the climbing bug at summer camp, Obmascik can't resist the opportunity for some high...
Turn right at Machu Picchu : rediscovering the lost city one step at a time
Adams, Mark
Paper Book
Mark Adams has spent his career editing adventure and travel magazines, polishing hair-raising tales about the exploits of famous explorers. So his plan to investigate the allegations against Bingham by retracing the explorer's perilous path to Machu Picchu isn't completely far-fetched, even if it...
The River of Doubt : Theodore Roosevelt's darkest journey
Millard, Candice.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait--the bestselling author of River of the Gods brings us the true story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth. ...
Travels with Charley : in search of America
Steinbeck, John
Paper Book
An intimate journey across America, as told by one of its most beloved writers A Penguin Classic In September 1960, John Steinbeck embarked on a journey across America. He felt that he might have lost touch with the country, with its speech, the smell of its grass...
Notes from a small island
Bryson, Bill.
Paper Book
Featuring an all-new cover, New York Times bestseller Bill Bryson's irrevent and hilarious journey through the beloved island nation he called home for two decades. From Downing Street to Loch Ness, this is a delightful look at the United Kingdom. Before New York Times...
The sex lives of cannibals : adrift in the Equatorial Pacific
Troost, J. Maarten.
Paper Book
At the age of twenty-six, Maarten Troost--who had been pushing the snooze button on the alarm clock of life by racking up useless graduate degrees and muddling through a series of temp jobs--decided to pack up his flip-flops and move to Tarawa, a remote South Pacific island in the Republic of...
In Patagonia
Chatwin, Bruce
Paper Book
The masterpiece of travel writing that revolutionized the genre and made its author famous overnight   An exhilarating look at a place that still retains the exotic mystery of a far-off, unseen land, Bruce Chatwin's exquisite account of his journey through Patagonia teems...
The geography of bliss : one grump's search for the happiest places in the world
Weiner, Eric.
Paper Book
Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the reader from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments of un-unhappiness.
Under the Tuscan sun : at home in Italy
Mayes, Frances.
Paper Book
Buying a villa in the spectacular Italian countryside is a wonderful fantasy -- even if 17 rooms and a garden in need of immediate loving care are included in the asking price. Frances Mayes -- gourmet cook, widely published travel writer, and poet -- changed her life by doing just that. Sprinkled...
Down the Nile : alone in a fisherman's skiff
Mahoney, Rosemary.
Paper Book
Rosemary Mahoney presents an exciting and amusing adventure that offers a fresh view of Egypt in the past and the present.
A voyage for madmen
Nichols, Peter
Paper Book
"An extraordinary story of bravery and insanity on the high seas. . . . One of the most gripping sea stories I have ever read." -- Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm In the tradition of Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm, comes a breathtaking oceanic...

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