My 10 Favorite Adventure/Travel Memoirs

As an editor (and as a writer) I've always been drawn to true stories, and especially to people writing about adventures they have had or about their travels and voyages. Whether harrowing or humorous, these exciting memoirs are always my favorite reads, year in and year out.

Like all my "top ten" booklists, this one is quite personal and highly subjective. I had to leave out some classics like Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux, because it's been so long since I read it, I couldn't remember what I loved about it, only that I loved it. And I left out Into The Wild because it's not a memoir, it's the story of Christopher McCandless, told by Jon Krakauer, an excellent writer.

Readers may notice a number of these titles are about Baja California and boats. Well, I lived on a sailboat for many years, much of that time spent on and around Baja's Sea of Cortez, so I'm partial to stories about the area, and about sailing, too.

Anyway, here's my current list of favorite memoirs that involve travel or adventure:

Adrift: Seventy Six Days Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan

Almost An Island by Bruce Berger

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

Into A Desert Place by Graham Mackintosh

Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles Through Baja California, the Other Mexico by C.M.Mayo

My Old Man and the Sea: A Father and Son Sail Around Cape Horn by David Hays

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Let me know which of these books are on your top ten list—and which of your favorite memoirs I should check out.

hasta pronto!