Books like Thirst — picked by fans

I've been interested in Fastest Known Time records since my first long-distance hike on the Appalachian Trail in 2015. On my 50-somethingth day on trail, Scott Jurek passed me on his day 11. It was completely unfathomable to me, who was struggling to hike ⅕ of the same miles every day. To watch in the following years as men’s records fell to women was an inspiration that led me to wonder if I myself could set a record. After a few years of training and the support of women in the community, I finally got my name on the board. Stories like the ones in these books are what pushed me to believe I was capable of big things, too.

I've been interested in Fastest Known Time records since my first long-distance hike on the Appalachian Trail in 2015. On my 50-somethingth day on trail, Scott Jurek passed me on his day 11. It was completely unfathomable to me, who was struggling to hike ⅕ of the same miles every day. To watch in the following years as men’s records fell to women was an inspiration that led me to wonder if I myself could set a record. After a few years of training and the support of women in the community, I finally got my name on the board. Stories like the ones in these books are what pushed me to believe I was capable of big things, too.

I've been interested in Fastest Known Time records since my first long-distance hike on the Appalachian Trail in 2015. On my 50-somethingth day on trail, Scott Jurek passed me on his day 11. It was completely unfathomable to me, who was struggling to hike ⅕ of the same miles every day. To watch in the following years as men’s records fell to women was an inspiration that led me to wonder if I myself could set a record. After a few years of training and the support of women in the community, I finally got my name on the board. Stories like the ones in these books are what pushed me to believe I was capable of big things, too.

I've been interested in Fastest Known Time records since my first long-distance hike on the Appalachian Trail in 2015. On my 50-somethingth day on trail, Scott Jurek passed me on his day 11. It was completely unfathomable to me, who was struggling to hike ⅕ of the same miles every day. To watch in the following years as men’s records fell to women was an inspiration that led me to wonder if I myself could set a record. After a few years of training and the support of women in the community, I finally got my name on the board. Stories like the ones in these books are what pushed me to believe I was capable of big things, too.

I didn’t really take up hiking until I was in my 30s, but outdoor adventures have become a way of life. I love walking along a trail, marveling at my surroundings and wondering what new delight I’ll discover around the next bend or over the next hill. Upon turning 70, I tackled my most challenging walk yet – trekking over 250 miles along the spectacular South West Coast Path in Cornwall, England. I found the immersion in focusing solely on walking each day to be both meditative and uplifting. The books on this list reflect my love for the outdoors, with some inspiring me to try something new, while others I prefer to experience vicariously.

National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Heather Anderson is the only woman who has completed the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide National Scenic Trails each three times. This includes her historic Calendar Year Triple Crown hike in 2018 when she hiked all three of those trails in one March-November season, making her the first female to do so. As an itinerant hiker, runner, and mountaineer she has logged over 40,000 foot miles since 2003 including over a dozen thru-hikes and many ultramarathons. She is also an avid mountaineer and peakbagger working on several ascent lists in the US and abroad.

As a writer and journalist in Iran, I knew many activists and journalists who spent time in solitary confinement. I noticed that this part of their prison experience was the hardest one for them to put to words, even those keen on sharing their experiences have a much easier time talking about the interrogation room but remain strangely reticent about the solitary cell. When I set out to write a novel about a bus driver who ends up in jail, I decided to dedicate several chapters of the book to his time in solitary confinement. That research sent me down the rabbit hole of interviewing former prisoners and reading widely about the solitary experience.

I’m a former indoor kid and big-city girl, and I never imagined I’d wind up spending months of each year pooping in the woods—by choice! But walking all day every day on footpaths through the wilderness has become one of the greatest loves of my life, and I’m so glad to have books by other adventurous folks to keep me company when I’m back at home. I’ve written two of these books myself: How To Be Alone and What We Owe to Ourselves. I also write a weekly newsletter called Wild Letters, where I share honest stories of self-exploration both on and off the trail.

My interest in healing and nature stems from a very particular source—my own search for answers in the wake of my wife’s premature death in 2007. I’d read somewhere that loss often either engulfs someone or propels them forward, and I didn’t want to end up in the former category, particularly as I had a young daughter to look after. So this list represents an urgent personal quest that started years ago and still continues to this day. The books have been a touchstone, a vital support, and a revelation—pieces in the jigsaw of a recovery still incomplete. I hope they help others as they’ve helped me.

I’ve loved to read from the moment I discovered I could, going to the library and checking out the max number I was allowed every week. When I discovered romance novels, I’d hide the covers so no one knew what I was reading but I could never stop. My favorites were the ones focusing on marriage of convenience. They have multiple layers of conflict and the happily ever after never comes easy. There is something about forcing two unwilling souls together that makes for some interesting, complicated, explosive, delightful, and heartwarming storylines. No matter the time frame, two people fighting their attraction but ultimately loving hard is worth the read.