The best nonfiction does more than just inform us; it can change how we view the world. These are stories of ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances: surviving the frigid Arctic and the unforgiving Pacific ocean, fighting a rigged justice system, and exposing global coverups with devastating environmental impact. Be inspired by these powerful narratives of resilience, survival, and investigative journalism that offer thought-provoking insights into the human condition and the world we live in.
North of Ordinary: How One Woman Left It All Behind for Wilderness and Wonder in Alaska's Frozen Frontier by Sue Aikens
In this compelling memoir, “Life Below Zero” star Sue Aikens details her remarkable life surviving in a remote outpost 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Kavik, Alaska, with its deadly storms, hungry bears, and long winter nights, is where Aikens chose to reckon with childhood trauma, sacrificing a comfortable life in Portland with her husband and teenagers to forge a fiercely independent life and build resilience.
Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash by Alexander Clapp
Journalist Alexander Clapp provides a comprehensive exposé on the multi-billion-dollar global shadow economy of garbage disposal. Drawing on two years of international research, Clapp reveals how Western waste is secretly trafficked to developing nations. Investigating across five continents, Clapp learned of Javanese recycling gangsters, cruise ship dismantlers in the Aegean, and Tanzanian plastic pickers. Clapp’s deep dive into these “waste wars” sparks a much-needed assessment of our global consumption habits and their effects on the environment and unsuspecting populations around the world.
Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder and Deception on the Gulf Coast by Pamela Colloff
Investigative reporter Pamela Colloff examines the devastating impact of serial con artist Paul Skalnik, whose deceptions included falsified careers, multiple marriages-- some at the same time-- and fabricating jailhouse testimonies that landed an innocent man on death row. Skalnik himself went free, and Colloff’s compelling narrative exposes the tragic consequences of his deception while serving as a critical indictment of a legal system that prioritized closing cases over uncovering the truth.
A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst
Who doesn’t dream of leaving the world behind sometimes? In June 1972, Maurice and Maralyn turned this common daydream into reality, studying nautical navigation and crafting the perfect supply list, then setting sail around the world. Things went well until they didn’t, when their vessel was sunk by a whale in the Pacific. For months, the couple was stranded on a tiny raft in the vast ocean, starving and struggling to survive in this ultimate test of their marriage.
London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe
In November 2019, nineteen-year-old Zac Brettler appeared to jump from a balcony of Riverwalk, a luxury apartment complex on the Thames. Zac’s grieving parents, Rachelle and Matthew, didn’t believe their son would have committed suicide, and began working to piece things together. They learned the apartment’s owner, Akbar Shamji, knew Zac as “Zac Ismailov,” the child of a wealthy Russian oligarch. In addition, Zac’s parents learned the apartment was owned by a London gangster known as “Indian Dave.” From physical evidence and text messages, it became clear that Zac’s death was not a suicide, yet Scotland Yard had no interest in investigating. Keefe masterfully chronicles the Brettlers’ frustrating quest for answers, exposing the systemic corruption hidden beneath the city's affluent façade.
How to Say Babylon: A Memoir: by Safiya Sinclair
Poet Sinclair’s lyrical writing is juxtaposed with her harsh upbringing in Jamaica in this powerful memoir. Under the thumb of her militant Rastafarian father, Sinclair and her sisters were at the mercy of his unpredictable bouts of rage and were forbidden from talking to friends and wearing pants or jewelry. To cope, Sinclair turned to writing poetry, and eventually left for college in the United States. Sinclair compares her traumatic childhood with her experience of being a poet in “Babylon,” her rageful father’s term for America. Despite her difficult upbringing, Sinclair demonstrates remarkable strength and grit, revealed in her beautiful prose.
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