Here are 100 books that Skating To Antarctica fans have personally recommended if you like Skating To Antarctica. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Depressive Illness: The Curse of the Strong

James Withey Author Of How To Tell Depression to Piss Off: 40 Ways to Get Your Life Back

From my list on manage bloody depression.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Brighton based writer. I’ve lived with bloody depression and frigging anxiety, since a child. I’m the founder of The Recovery Letters project, which publishes online letters from people recovering from depression, addressed to those experiencing it. It was published as a book in 2017 and Cosmopolitan named it "One of the 12 mental health books everyone should read". I also edited What I Do to Get Through: How to Run, Swim, Cycle, Sew, or Sing Your Way Through DepressionMy fourth book, How to Tell Anxiety to Sod Off, is due out in 2022.

James' book list on manage bloody depression

James Withey Why James loves this book

This book saved my life. And no, I’m not exaggerating. I read it at the peak of my depression when I’d lost all hope and my emotional pain was at its peak. I spent the whole time going ‘Yes! That’s me, that’s happening to me! Thank god someone understands’. 

It is short, so that you can actually finish it. This is SO important when your concentration has evaporated due to depression. It’s written by a psychiatrist who understands what your brain is doing but also, crucially, tells you what to do and emphasises how serious this illness is.

By Tim Cantopher ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Depressive Illness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'People affected by depression tell me this is the most powerful and helpful book ever written on the topic. I keep meeting people who say this book changed their lives.' - Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2

Do you have depression?
Firstly, stop blaming yourself.
Secondly, don't struggle on alone - read this book instead. It has helped thousands of people just like you.

Dr Tim Cantopher knows two essential truths about depression and depressive illness.

One: it's strong people who are most vulnerable to it; people whose standards are high, whose ethics are powerful, who want their lives to be…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of Underneath the Lemon Tree: A Memoir of Depression and Recovery

James Withey Author Of How To Tell Depression to Piss Off: 40 Ways to Get Your Life Back

From my list on manage bloody depression.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Brighton based writer. I’ve lived with bloody depression and frigging anxiety, since a child. I’m the founder of The Recovery Letters project, which publishes online letters from people recovering from depression, addressed to those experiencing it. It was published as a book in 2017 and Cosmopolitan named it "One of the 12 mental health books everyone should read". I also edited What I Do to Get Through: How to Run, Swim, Cycle, Sew, or Sing Your Way Through DepressionMy fourth book, How to Tell Anxiety to Sod Off, is due out in 2022.

James' book list on manage bloody depression

James Withey Why James loves this book

What I love about this book is the journey it takes you on, from despair to hope. At the start of the book, Mark is at the height of anguish with his depression. You read about what he did to start his recovery process; what worked and what didn’t, what he did wrong and what he got right. It gives you hope that you can make a similar journey and hope is the antidote to depression because it’s the main thing it takes from you, so it’s the main thing you need to find and cling on to; even the smallest amount of hope helps.

By Mark Rice-Oxley ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Underneath the Lemon Tree as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On paper, things looked good for Mark Rice-Oxley: wife, children, fulfilling job. But then, at his 40th birthday party, his whole world crumbled as he succumbed to depression...

How many men do you know who have been through periods when their lives haven't seemed right? How badly askew were things for them? Many men suffer from depression yet it is still a subject that is taboo. Men often don't visit the doctor, or they don't want to face up to feelings of weakness and vulnerability. By telling his story, Mark Rice-Oxley hopes it will enable others to tell theirs. In…


Book cover of I Had a Black Dog

James Withey Author Of How To Tell Depression to Piss Off: 40 Ways to Get Your Life Back

From my list on manage bloody depression.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Brighton based writer. I’ve lived with bloody depression and frigging anxiety, since a child. I’m the founder of The Recovery Letters project, which publishes online letters from people recovering from depression, addressed to those experiencing it. It was published as a book in 2017 and Cosmopolitan named it "One of the 12 mental health books everyone should read". I also edited What I Do to Get Through: How to Run, Swim, Cycle, Sew, or Sing Your Way Through DepressionMy fourth book, How to Tell Anxiety to Sod Off, is due out in 2022.

James' book list on manage bloody depression

James Withey Why James loves this book

Sometimes pictures express depression better than words, and that’s the case in this beautiful, powerful and hopeful little book. Depression can be hard to describe, hard to find the words to tell other people how you feel. Matthew Johnstone uses Winston Churchill’s image of depression as a black dog and in 48 pages reveals what depression can do to you. 

This book is especially good to show to your loved ones when you’re finding it hard to express the pain of your depression.

By Matthew Johnstone ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Had a Black Dog as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'I Had a Black Dog says with wit, insight, economy and complete understanding what other books take 300 pages to say. Brilliant and indispensable.' - Stephen Fry

'Finally, a book about depression that isn't a prescriptive self-help manual. Johnston's deftly expresses how lonely and isolating depression can be for sufferers. Poignant and humorous in equal measure.' Sunday Times

There are many different breeds of Black Dog affecting millions of people from all walks of life. The
Black Dog is an equal opportunity mongrel.

It was Winston Churchill who popularized the phrase Black Dog to describe the bouts of depression he…


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of The Other Side of Silence: A Psychiatrist's Memoir of Depression

James Withey Author Of How To Tell Depression to Piss Off: 40 Ways to Get Your Life Back

From my list on manage bloody depression.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Brighton based writer. I’ve lived with bloody depression and frigging anxiety, since a child. I’m the founder of The Recovery Letters project, which publishes online letters from people recovering from depression, addressed to those experiencing it. It was published as a book in 2017 and Cosmopolitan named it "One of the 12 mental health books everyone should read". I also edited What I Do to Get Through: How to Run, Swim, Cycle, Sew, or Sing Your Way Through DepressionMy fourth book, How to Tell Anxiety to Sod Off, is due out in 2022.

James' book list on manage bloody depression

James Withey Why James loves this book

This book is a beautiful, inspiring weaving tale of a psychiatrist who has recurrent depression and has worked with people with depression. She doesn’t disguise how hard depression is, she doesn’t patronise, she explains depression from her personal point of view, explores what happened in her childhood, and explains a clinician’s point of view of depression. 

It’s embedded with bucket loads of empathy, compassion, and hope. You hear about the patients she’s helped and you come out feeling humbled and grateful for her telling her story. Very useful for professionals working in psychiatry and mental health but equally useful for those of us with this terrible illness.

By Linda Gask ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Other Side of Silence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.'

George Eliot, Middlemarch

Having spent her life trying to patch up the souls of others, psychiatrist Linda Gask came to realise that being an expert in depression didn't confer any immunity from it - she had to learn take care of herself, too. Artfully crafted and told with warmth and honesty, this is the story of Linda's journey, interwoven…


Book cover of Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica

Rebecca Priestley Author Of Fifteen Million Years in Antarctica

From my list on Antarctic travel science and climate by women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m kind of obsessed with Antarctica. Sometimes, in a good way–I love ice and cold!–and sometimes in a more troubled way (melting Antarctic ice will have a global impact). As a science writer and academic, my work engages deeply with Antarctica, climate change, and sea level rise, and after my three trips to the ice, I wrote my own Antarctic story. All these books are different, deeply imbued with the personality of the author and their different experiences on the frozen continent. And all of them engage with the vulnerability of this astonishing part of the world and the remarkable people working to uncover its secrets. 

Rebecca's book list on Antarctic travel science and climate by women

Rebecca Priestley Why Rebecca loves this book

An ex-boyfriend gave this book to me for Christmas 1997, inscribed ‘I hope this book inspires you’. By 1997, I’d applied–unsuccessfully–to visit Antarctica as a geology research assistant, a PR officer, and a journalist. Meanwhile, the ex who gave me the book was accepted on his first application to film a documentary.

While I envied Wheeler for her successful Antarctic application, I loved the book’s strong narrative and personal reflections, though I didn’t share her fascination for bearded Antarctic geologists (there’s a bit of tent-romance in the book)–I guess I already knew too many of them. I loved what I could glean about Antarctica from this much more personal account of the continent than other books I’d read. 

By Sara Wheeler ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Terra Incognita as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It is the coldest, windiest, driest place on earth, an icy desert of unearthly beauty and stubborn impenetrability. For centuries, Antarctica has captured the imagination of our greatest scientists and explorers, lingering in the spirit long after their return. Shackleton called it "the last great journey"; for Apsley Cherry-Garrard it was the worst journey in the world.

This is a book about the call of the wild and the response of the spirit to a country that exists perhaps most vividly in the mind. Sara Wheeler spent seven months in Antarctica, living with its scientists and dreamers. No book is…


Book cover of Knitting in Antarctica: 28 Beautiful Hat Patterns with Stories of Life 'On the Ice'

Leilani Raashida Henry Author Of The Call of Antarctica: Exploring and Protecting Earth's Coldest Continent

From my list on taste of polar exploration world travel adventure.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent 20 years researching Antarctica and polar history to learn about my father’s experiences on Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s III expedition or the USASE in 1939-41. I’ve been passionate about art, travel, and learning about other cultures for most of my life. I’m excited to say, I’ve worked on all the continents! My interests led me to a career as a leadership consultant, executive coach and team facilitator. Since 2020, I have had a dream job working with Antarctic scientists and teams, assisting them to manage stress and conflict in the field. With a lifetime of experience in the performing arts, my work inspires leaders to unlock their full potential and drive meaningful change.

Leilani's book list on taste of polar exploration world travel adventure

Leilani Raashida Henry Why Leilani loves this book

I had no idea about what life is like in McMurdo Antarctica. On top of that, getting patterns of wearable art that you can knit yourself is a welcomed surprise.

Even though I’m not a crafter, I appreciate reading about the necessary camaraderie that’s needed to be comfortable in a remote place away from your family and friends. 

By Lynn A. Hamann , Christine M. Powell ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Knitting in Antarctica as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ever wonder what it's like to be a knitter living and working in Antarctica? This stunningly photographed book offers 28 unique hat patterns from Antarctica's own knitters, plus stories that give a fascinating glimpse of life living 'on The Ice.' Lynn Hamann and Christine Powell met and worked together in Antarctica for many years before deciding to write a book together. They are both accomplished knitters, and have developed a unique style born of necessity of working in the coldest, driest, windiest place on Earth.


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent

Rebecca Priestley Author Of Fifteen Million Years in Antarctica

From my list on Antarctic travel science and climate by women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m kind of obsessed with Antarctica. Sometimes, in a good way–I love ice and cold!–and sometimes in a more troubled way (melting Antarctic ice will have a global impact). As a science writer and academic, my work engages deeply with Antarctica, climate change, and sea level rise, and after my three trips to the ice, I wrote my own Antarctic story. All these books are different, deeply imbued with the personality of the author and their different experiences on the frozen continent. And all of them engage with the vulnerability of this astonishing part of the world and the remarkable people working to uncover its secrets. 

Rebecca's book list on Antarctic travel science and climate by women

Rebecca Priestley Why Rebecca loves this book

I loved this book for its engrossing introduction to the history, wildlife, and landscapes of Antarctica and the people who work–and sometimes live–there.

Written by a scientist turned science writer, this book focuses less on the author and more on the people she meets over her five visits to Antarctica, but from the tantalizing glimpses of the author through her responses to the extraordinary places she visits–including South Pole Station–I know she’s someone I would like.

The last chapter of the book focuses on climate change and ice melt, and this is a reminder of how long scientists have been trying to warn us about the dangers of a warming planet.

By Gabrielle Walker ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Antarctica as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Antarctica is the most alien place on the planet, the only part of the earth where humans could never survive unaided. Out of our fascination with it have come many books, most of which focus on only one aspect of its unique strangeness. None has managed to capture the whole story—until now.

Drawing on her broad travels across the continent, in Antarctica Gabrielle Walker weaves all the significant threads of life on the vast ice sheet into an intricate tapestry, illuminating what it really feels like to be there and why it draws so many different kinds of people. With…


Book cover of Up to This Pointe

Paula Stokes Author Of Girl Against the Universe

From my list on YA for people navigating grief or loss.

Why am I passionate about this?

I knew when I was in elementary school that I wanted to be a therapist when I grew up, but I took a slight detour after finishing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology to work as a line cook, retail manager, veterinary assistant, freelance editor, and registered nurse before finding my way back to graduate school. I also released ten young adult novels, many of them populated by characters struggling with mental illness. I understand anxiety, survivor’s guilt, grief, and loss as both a counselor and a human being, and I selected these books because they resonated deeply with me. I hope readers find comfort and connection in their pages.

Paula's book list on YA for people navigating grief or loss

Paula Stokes Why Paula loves this book

Most books about grief deal specifically with the death of a loved one, but grief isn’t just about death—it’s about major loss. For some of us that might mean the loss of a friendship or relationship or job. In this book, the main character is facing the loss of a lifelong dream.

Despite what TV shows and self-help books tell us, success is not a simple matter of dedication and hard work. Sometimes we don’t achieve our dreams, and stories like this remind us that "failure" is okay, that we have options, that we can choose to pursue the thing we love in a different way, or choose to love something else, or maybe we'll have to take a break to heal and reflect before we choose anything at all. The universe might steal away a dream, but we remain in charge of our happiness.

By Jennifer Longo ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Up to This Pointe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Harper had a plan. It went south. Hand this utterly unique contemporary YA to anyone who loves ballet or is a little too wrapped up in their Plan A. (It's okay to fail, people!)
 
Harper Scott is a dancer. She and her best friend, Kate, have one goal: becoming professional ballerinas. And Harper won’t let anything—or anyone—get in the way of The Plan, not even the boy she and Kate are both drawn to.
 
Harper is a Scott. She’s related to Robert Falcon Scott, the explorer who died racing Amundsen and Shackleton to the South Pole. Amundsen won because he…


Book cover of Pearly and Pig and the Great Hairy Beast

Debra Clewer Author Of Ah-Fur, Super Sleuth: The Case of The Missing Moggies

From my list on mystery and action for young readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an Australian author and have been an avid reader all of my life. One of the topics I particularly enjoy is mystery and adventure. I became a writer to engage children’s imaginations and encourage them in their reading. So many struggle, as I discovered whilst assisting in classrooms over many years. Children love secrets and mysteries, and this is a great way to draw them in. Other themes such as teamwork and friendship are just as important, so I try to cover all bases. I hope you and your young readers enjoy my recommendations.

Debra's book list on mystery and action for young readers

Debra Clewer Why Debra loves this book

A fast-paced, action-adventure tale for young readers. 10-year-old Pearly is concerned after receiving a strange phone call from her parents. They belong to a top-secret group. She believes her parents are being held on a ship bound for Antarctica but realises that they are not there, and she becomes the one in trouble. How will this young adventurer solve what is happening? It's something to do with a great hairy beast that is believed to dwell in the icy landscape-a creature her parents would have liked to prove exists. Whilst Pearl is a worrier, she steps into the frame and exhibits newfound bravery and nerve, doing what she can to find her parents. An encouraging example to be brave in difficult circumstances.

By Sue Whiting , Rebecca Crane (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pearly and Pig and the Great Hairy Beast as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

The Antarctica awaits in this fast-paced adventure starring a plucky new heroine. Pearly must face her fears to save her parents, her pet pig, and the day!

Pearly Woe is a worrier. She worries about everything, especially that she'll never be brave enough to become a member of the top-secret group of stealth adventurers - The Adventurologists' Guild. Pearly also has a special talent - she can talk to animals. Her favourite animal to talk to is her pet pig, called Pig. But with her parents missing, Pig pig-napped and Pearly a stowaway on an icebreaker heading for Antarctica, Pearly's…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of How Did It All Start? Where Did We Come From?

Marion Dane Bauer Author Of The Stuff of Stars

From my list on the origins of our universe.

Why am I passionate about this?

My expertise on the origins of our universe comes out of fascination, nothing more. I am a long-time children’s writer who began my approach to this topic with awe. Just awe. In order to write The Stuff of Stars I read widely to expand my own understanding. A single line in this text can come out of hours of reading. The books I’m suggesting here, though, are not the scientific ones that informed my telling. Rather, I have searched out books that are exceptionally creative, accessible, interesting. Some are for the very young and some for those who share their learning with the very young.  

Marion's book list on the origins of our universe

Marion Dane Bauer Why Marion loves this book

This fascinating book presents science side by side with creation stories drawn from every part of the world. Ghosh’s scientific explanations of the origins of our universe are succinct and clear. He tells us what is known about our beginnings, what is supposed, and what we do not know and may never understand. And he lays out creation stories from many parts of the world along with information about the cultures from which those stories came. How Did It All Start? is perfect for older children or for adults who want to deepen their understanding of both the science and the myths that surround our beginnings.

By Biku Ghosh ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How Did It All Start? Where Did We Come From? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How did it all start? What was there in the beginning? What exactly is the universe? The brilliant stars, distant galaxies, the sun, the moon and our planet Earth. Where did it all come from, and what is its future? The Big Bang is a cornerstone theory of modern cosmology. This book tries to give a simplified understanding to our curious readers.

Take a look at when and how life started and evolved? How, where and when did the humans arrive? What was the journey of humans out of Africa and peopling of the rest of the world like? What…


Book cover of Depressive Illness: The Curse of the Strong
Book cover of Underneath the Lemon Tree: A Memoir of Depression and Recovery
Book cover of I Had a Black Dog

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Interested in Antarctica, depression, and major depressive disorder?

Antarctica 61 books
Depression 93 books