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
NATIONAL BEST SELLER * Oprah's Book Club 2.0 selection. * 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...
We came, we saw, we left : a family gap year
Wheelan, Charles J.
Paper Book
Charlie Wheelan and his family do what others dream of: They take a year off to travel the world. This is their story. What would happen if you quit your life for a year? In a pre-COVID-19 world, the Wheelan family decided to find out; leaving behind work, school, and even the family...
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...
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
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The classic chronicle of a "terribly misguided and terribly funny" (The Washington Post) hike of the Appalachian Trail, from the author of A Short History of Nearly Everything and The Body  ...
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 ...
The way of the hermit : my incredible 40 years living in the wilderness
Smith, Ken (Hermit of Treig)
Ebook
*INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER* Subconsciously, I pressed myself into the loch's banks as that summer inched forward. We'd got off to a rocky beginning, but I started to see Treig in a different way. There was something about this land that told me just to hold on a while...
Things become other things : a walking memoir
Mod, Craig
Paper Book
A transformative 300-mile walk along Japan's ancient pilgrimage routes and through depopulating villages inspires a heartrending remembrance of a long-lost friend, documented in poignant, imaginative prose and remarkable photography. "An epic, exquisitely detailed journey, on...
Mother of God : an extraordinary journey into the uncharted tributaries of the western Amazon
Rosolie, Paul
Ebook
"An old-fashioned jungle adventure, one with rare immediacy and depth of feeling for the people and creatures [Rosolie] encounters." --Wall Street Journal For fans of The Lost City of Z, Walking the Amazon, and Turn Right at Machu Picchu comes naturalist and...
The world walk : 7 years. 28,000 miles. 6 continents. : a grand meditation, one step at a time
Turcich, Tom
Paper Book
For fans of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild and Suleika Jaouad's Between Two Kingdoms, the invigorating true story of a man and his dog who circled the globe on foot. "Gripping . . . The World Walk ...
To shake the sleeping self : a journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a quest for a life with no regret
Jenkins, Jedidiah
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "With winning candor, Jedidiah Jenkins takes us with him as he bicycles across two continents and delves deeply into his own beautiful heart."--Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things  ...
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...
Tip of the iceberg : my 3,000-mile journey around wild Alaska, the last great American frontier
Adams, Mark
Paper Book
In 1899, railroad magnate Edward H. Harriman organised a most unusual summer voyage to the wilds of Alaska: He converted a steamship into a luxury 'floating university,' populated by some of America's best and brightest scientists and writers, including the anti-capitalist eco-prophet John Muir....
The adventurer's son : a memoir
Dial, Roman
Ebook
NATIONAL BESTSELLER  "Destined to become an adventure classic." --Anchorage Daily News Hailed as "gripping" (New York Times) and "beautiful" (Washington Post), The Adventurer's Son is Roman Dial's extraordinary and widely acclaimed account of his two-year quest to unravel...
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...
Call you when I land : a memoir
Vargas, Nikki
Paper Book
"I absolutely loved it. It's so good. So real and heartfelt and funny and rich with life." -CHERYL STRAYED * A Real Simple Book Club Pick * Hudson Bestseller *  Winner of the 2024 Bessie Award * A RECOMMENDED READ FROM: Good Morning...
After the North Pole : a story of survival, mythmaking, and melting ice
Kagge, Erling
Paper Book
"A dazzling book -- soulful, awe-inspiring, and deeply thought-provoking. Erling Kagge takes readers on a journey they'll never forget." -- Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life "After the North Pole is a thrilling, insightful, and magical journey with something...
Arctic traverse : a thousand-mile summer trekking the Brooks Range
Engelhard, Michael
Audiobook
Mother, nature : a 5,000-mile journey to discover if a mother and son can survive their differences
Jenkins, Jedidiah
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the author of To Shake the Sleeping Self . . . "Exquisitely written and completely compelling . . . As Jedidiah Jenkins traces a 5,000-mile route with his wildly entertaining mother, Barb, he begins to untangle the live wires of a parent-child...
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...
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...
Life lived wild : adventures at the edge of the map
Ridgeway, Rick
Paper Book
A life worth living is lived at the edges where it is wild At the beginning of his memoir Life Lived Wild, Adventures at the Edge of the Map, Rick Ridgeway tells us that if you add up all his many expeditions, he's spent over five years of his life sleeping in tents: "And most of...
Love with a chance of drowning : a memoir
DeRoche, Torre.
Ebook
A hilarious, heartwarming, and often mishap-strewn account of sacrificing it all for love and facing one's biggest fears in the process. New love. Exotic destinations. A once-in-a-lifetime adventure. What could go wrong? City girl Torre DeRoche isn't looking for love...
Finding elevation : fear and courage on the world's most dangerous mountain
Thompson, Lisa (Mountaineer)
Paper Book
Near the death zone on K2, the world's second-highest mountain, Lisa Thompson searched for the strength to...
No barriers : a blind man's journey to kayak the Grand Canyon
Weihenmayer, Erik
Ebook
Amazon woman : facing fears, chasing dreams, and a quest to kayak the world's largest river from source to sea
Gaechter, Darcy
Ebook
An extraordinary and inspiring chronicle of one woman's harrowing journey to become the first female to kayak the entire Amazon River. Part memoir, part feminist manifesto, Amazon Woman shows what incredible feats we are capable of and...
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
At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, "The River of Doubt" is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth. The River of Doubt-- it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes...
Notes from a small island
Bryson, Bill.
Ebook
Featuring an all-new cover, New York Times bestseller Bill Bryson's irreverent and hilarious travel memoir through the beloved island nation he called home for two decades. From Downing Street to Loch Ness, this is a delightful look at British culture. Before New...
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.
The salt path
Winn, Raynor
Paper Book
THE MULTI-MILLION COPY INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING GILLIAN ANDERSON AND JASON ISAACS "Polished, poignant... an inspiring story of true love."--Entertainment Weekly A BEST BOOK OF 2019, NPR's Book Concierge ...
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...
A voyage for madmen
Nichols, Peter
Ebook
"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...

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