Bull Canyon: A Boatbuilder, a Writer and Other Wildlife


Lin Pardey - 2011
    First there were the rats in the pantry, then the floods, then the fires, then the visiting cougar. Life in Bull Canyon was daunting and dangerous. Often Lin wondered just what in the world they were doing so far from their customary home on the open seas. Bull Canyon joins the canon of great tales of homesteading, told in the warm, funny, and insightful voice of a true storyteller.

Beneath the Surface


Libby Trickett - 2019
    Winner of multiple Olympic gold medals and setter of world records, Libby wasn't just a champion, she was Australia's girl next door, the humble superstar from suburban Brisbane with the infectious grin and sunny nature. Yet what we saw on the surface - the confidence, competitiveness and warmth that were her hallmarks - belied the very private battles she fought in her own head. Beneath the incredible achievements and that trademark smile, Libby suffered from crippling depression. During her swimming career she managed to keep her demons more or less at bay, but when an injury forced her to retire in 2013 Libby was suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar world. With few, if any, qualifications to handle it, her self-doubts began to overwhelm her. The birth of her first baby added further complications to her fragile mental health, and she suffered intense postnatal depression. When she finally recognised the depression for what it was, and sought help for it, it was a major turning point in her life.Libby's memoir is an extraordinarily candid, revealing and inspiring account of both her public life as one of our greatest swimming champions, and her struggle to overcome her mental health challenges.

No Time for Fear: How a shark attack survivor beat the odds


Paul de Gelder - 2011
    Paul chased adventure wherever he could find it, from his wild ride as a hoodlum teen and his drug-and-alcohol fuelled stint working in a strip club to hauling his way up to the elite echelons of the defence forces.But trouble hunted him down in the form of a brutal shark in February 2009. Paul lost two limbs, and his career as a daredevil navy clearance diver was flung into jeopardy. Drawing on everything his eventful life had taught him, Paul left nothing to chance in his recovery. He fought through excruciating pain, smashing challenge after challenge, and amazing the medical staff with his will to succeed. His inspiring story takes ‘never say die’ to a whole new level.

To Air is Human: One Man's Quest to Become the World's Greatest Air Guitarist


Björn Türoque - 2006
     The true story of how mildly successful guitarist and New York Times writer Dan Crane relinquished his instrument and became Björn Türoque (pronounced "b-yorn too-RAWK"), the second greatest air guitarist in the nation. This exploration of the international air guitar sub-culture addresses the issue of dedicating oneself to an invisible art in order to achieve the ultimate goal of "airness"-that is, when air guitar transcends the "real" art that it imitates and becomes an art form in and of itself.

Ten Minutes from Home: A Memoir


Beth Greenfield - 2010
     In this searing, sparely written, and surprisingly wry memoir, Beth Greenfield shares what happens in 1982 when, as a twelve-year-old, she survives a drunk-driving accident that kills her younger brother Adam and best friend Kristin. As the benign concerns of adolescence are re­placed by crushing guilt and grief, Beth searches for hope and support in some likely and not-so-likely places (General Hospital, a kindly rabbi, the bottom of a keg), eventually discovering that while life is fragile, love doesn’t have to be.  Ten Minutes from Home exquisitely captures both the heartache of lost innocence and the solace of strength and survival.

This Much is True


Miriam Margolyes - 2021
    Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to her being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John as a teenager; why Bob Monkhouse was the best (male) kiss she's ever had; and what happened next after Warren Beatty asked 'Do you fuck?'From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, this book is packed with hilarious stories. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as full of life and surprises, as its inimitable author.

As Needed for Pain: A Memoir of Addiction


Dan Peres - 2020
    As an awkward, magic-obsessed adolescent, nothing was further from his reality than the catwalks of Paris or the hallways of glossy magazine publishers. A gifted writer and shrewd cultural observer, Peres eventually took the leap—even when it meant he had to fake a sense of belonging in a new world of famed fashion designers, celebrities, and some of media’s biggest names. But he had a secret: opiates.Peres’s career as an editor at W magazine and Details is well known, but little is known about his private life as a high-functioning drug addict. In As Needed for Pain, Peres lays bare for the first time the extent of his drug use—at one point a 60-pill-a-day habit.By turns humorous and gripping, Peres’s story is a cautionary coming-of-age tale filled with unforgettable characters and breathtaking brushes with disaster. But the heart of the book is his journey from outsider to insecure insider, what it took to get him there, and how he found his way back from a killing addiction. As Needed for Pain offers a rare glimpse into New York media’s past—a time when print magazines mattered—and a rarefied world of wealth, power, and influence. It is also a brilliant, shocking dissection of a life teetering on the edge of destruction, and what it took to pull back from the brink.

The Exotic and the Mundane


Joyce Dickens - 2018
    From the day they met, they’d been talking about “travelling more”, but in ten years they hadn’t advanced very far toward that dream and it had become more of a nagging dissatisfaction than an inspiring goal. Every time they returned from one of their brief yearly vacations, Joyce would spend weeks depressed, thinking there had to be a way to do more than this. They gradually came to the somewhat obvious realization that “travelling more” wasn’t just going to happen, they would need to decide what exactly they wanted, make a plan and commit to a lot of work. In early 2012, they made a decision to go all in on their travel dream, sell everything, and hit the road for an open-ended period of time.On March 31, 2013, they locked up their house one last time and left on a tour that would take them to 23 countries and 23 U.S. states over the next 14 months. This book is the chronicle of the first six months, spent in Central America and Africa, as they learned to slow down, look around and embrace wherever the heck they were. Alternately funny, frustrating and inspiring, their journey proves that anyone can travel more and that you don’t have to be rich, young or all that brave to get out and see the world.

Dirt Classroom: An inspiring true adventure through the Australian Outback


Matt Chadwick - 2016
    Over the next 2 years, I was attacked by a few wild animals, experienced unexplained phenomenon, had a massive learning curve and truly experienced the Australian outback. If you are after a story that was written to appeal to the masses and that mainstream publishers love, then this probably isn't for you. If you are after a lighthearted read that provides the raw truth about life out bush and my experience of it, then click away. I hope you enjoy. Note - mature themes.

Our Country Nurse: Can East End Nurse Sarah find a new life caring for babies in the country?


Sarah Beeson - 2016
    She's barely out of the car when she's called to assist the midwife with a bride who's gone into labour in the middle of her own wedding reception. And so her adventures begin...As a health visitor Nurse Sarah is as green as grass but she puts her best foot into wellies and braves the mad dogs, killer ganders and muddy tracks of the farming community. Despite set-backs young Sarah is determined to help the mums she meets, from struggling young mothers in unmodernised farmhouses, to doyennes of the county dinner party set who slave over stuffed olive hors-d'oeuvres.Village life in 1970s isn't always quite the Good Life Sarah's been expecting; her attempts at self-sufficiency and cider making lead to drunk badgers and spirited house parties - but will it be the clergyman, the vet or the young doctor that win Sarah's heart. During her first year in Kent, Nurse Sarah Hill get stuck in - reuniting families and helping mums in the midst of community full of ancient feuds, funny little ways and just a bit of magic.

Endless Perfect Circles: Lessons from the little-known world of ultradistance cycling


Ian Walker - 2020
    

The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World.


Jennifer Baggett - 2010
    Three friends, each on the brink of a quarter-life crisis, make a pact to quit their high pressure New York City media jobs and leave behind their friends, boyfriends, and everything familiar to embark on a year-long backpacking adventure around the world in The Lost Girls.

Into the Wind: My Six-Month Journey Wandering the World for Life's Purpose


Jake Ducey - 2013
    On the outskirts of civilization, often uncertain, without money and near death, he finds that everything he was seeking in the world was within him the whole time. Journeying from Guatemala to Australia, Indonesia to Thailand, and ending with fourteen days of silent meditation, he shows that our destiny is in reach if we only look within ourselves first.Foreword by Laird Hamilton, World Surfing Champion"Jake's book will move you to pursue your wildest dreams." Laird Hamilton, World Surf Champion"Decades ago there were visionaries at Apple Inc. who changed the world; Steve Jobs and me. Now Jake is here to transform the world in his own right." Steve Wozniak, (co-founder of Apple Inc.)"Jake's journey and book are proof that when we follow the Law-of-Attraction miracles become regularities and we live our wildest dreams while love surrounds us!" Richard Cohn (Publisher of the Secret/Founder of Beyond Words Publishing)"Jake's book shows that if you Make-A-Wish and act on it, you're rewarded. Inspiring!" Frank Shankwitz (Founder of Make-A-Wish Foundation)"Jake is proof that when we trust in Spirit we achieve whatever we put our minds to, including changing the world." Leah Amico (three time Olympic Gold Medalist, motivational speaker)"Jake's book shows that no matter your age, you can Think and Grow Rich, but that wealth begins within." Greg S. Reid (NYT Bestselling author-Napoleon Hill Foundation"Jake's big vision and unlimited passion will push you to do more to become a leader for a new way of life with endless possibilities." Forbes RileyLisa McCourt, author of the Hay House book, Juicy Joy - 7 Simple Steps to Your Glorious, Gutsy Self, as well as many books for young people that have sold over 5.5 million copies, said: "With a raw, authentic passion for his mission, Jake Ducey is bringing New Thought principles of truth and love to a whole new generation of seekers. I'm so excited to watch the unfolding of this blossoming visionary.""Jake's book and ability to speak will take you from your transition phase to one of success and purpose." Johnny Campbell, The Transition Man (Speaker Hall of Fame 2007)"Jake's adventures of illuminating past mistakes into divine greatness is an inspiration for anyone wanting to go beyond their negative mental conditioning." Dr. David Corbin (Author, inventor, life coach)"Jake is a fearless and daring young man with a message and journey that'll make you leap off the edge of comfort to your destiny" Nik Halik (Thrillionaire, author and motivational speaker)"Want inspiration to live the impossible dream? Read Jake's book. Listen to him speak." David E. Stanley (Bestselling author, Renowned Public Speaker)

Too Far Gone


A.T. Micalizzi - 2018
    When she is drunk, the “monster” takes control and stops at nothing to wreak havoc on the ones she loves. Flashbacks of tragedies from her formative years cause Diane to spiral out of control. Her oldest child, Anthony, attempts to shrug off his own childhood of horrors to help his mom before the “monster” defeats her once and for all.In his personal journal, Anthony chronicles three days from hell as he battles his mom’s addiction. All of the destruction, failed rehabilitation attempts, and heartaches lead to one bloody moment. Does he save his mom in time? Or does one more drink send her too far gone?In the US, addiction is an epidemic that devastates, destroys, and kills. A portion of this book’s proceeds will be donated to national addiction foundations in an attempt to help those suffering.

I'm not dead... yet


Robby Benson - 2012
    Benson’s goal with this memoir is to help patients and their loved ones get through surgery and recovery with knowledge and humor. Robby Benson wrote the book to “help readers and their families deal with all kinds of illnesses – it’s not heart specific. As baby boomers, our parents, and now our friends, loved ones and contemporaries are dealing with life-changing diagnoses – it’s a new chaos in our lives that we have to deal with. I hope to make readers laugh when at times it seems the events in our lives are overwhelming.”