Recommendations based on On the Move: A Lifeby Oliver Sacks

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Gratitude

    by Oliver Sacks
    A collection of essays on the importance of gratitude in life, written by the renowned neurologist and author Oliver Sacks.

    “My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales

    by Oliver Sacks
    A collection of case studies, illustrating extraordinary neurological phenomena.

    If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it. Dr. Oliver Sacks recounts the ... (Goodreads)

  3. An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales

    by Oliver Sacks
    Study of human behavior, exploring the complexities of neurological conditions.

    Paradoxical portraits of seven neurological patients, including a surgeon consumed by the compulsive tics of Tourette's syndrome unless he is operating; an artist who loses all sense of color in a ... (Goodreads)

  4. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

    by Atul Gawande
    An exploration of the human experience of mortality and the importance of end-of-life care.

    In, Being Mortal, author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Medicine has triumphed in modern ... (Goodreads)

  5. Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery

    by Henry Marsh
    A neurosurgeon's gripping account of the life and death decisions made in the operating room.

    What is it like to be a brain surgeon? How does it feel to hold someone's life in your hands, to cut into the stuff that creates thought, feeling, and reason? How do you live with the consequences of ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression

    by Andrew Solomon
    Exhaustive exploration of depression, its causes, and its effects on individuals and society.

    With uncommon humanity, candor, wit, and erudition, award-winning author Andrew Solomon takes the reader on a journey of incomparable range and resonance into the most pervasive of family secrets. ... (Goodreads)

  7. Between the World and Me

    by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    A letter to his son, exploring the realities of racism in America.

    “This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American ... (Goodreads)

  8. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

    by Susannah Cahalan
    A journalist's journey of survival and recovery from a rare autoimmune disorder.

    An award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her ... (Goodreads)

  9. Lab Girl

    by Hope Jahren
    A memoir about a young woman's journey to discover her scientific calling and resilience.

    Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much ... (Goodreads)

  10. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

    by Mary Roach
    An exploration of the strange and often unknown history of cadavers, and their uses in science and medicine.

    Okay, you're thinking: ,"This must be some kind of a joke. A humorous book about cadavers?", Yup — and it works. Mary Roach takes the age-old question, "What happens to us after we die?" quite ... (Goodreads)

  11. H is for Hawk

    by Helen Macdonald
    A journey of grief and healing, told through the eyes of a goshawk.

    Obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator. When Helen Macdonald's father died suddenly ... (Goodreads)

  12. NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

    by Steve Silberman
    Explores the history, science, and personal stories of autism.

    Going back to the earliest days of autism research and chronicling the brave and lonely journey of autistic people and their families through the decades, Silberman provides long-sought solutions to ... (Goodreads)

  13. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

    by Charles C. Mann
    Re-examination of the pre-Columbian Americas, uncovering new evidence of its history.

    In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.,Contrary to what so many ... (Goodreads)

  14. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

    by J.D. Vance
    An exploration of the struggles of working-class Americans, and the power of family and culture to shape one's life.

    Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for ... (Goodreads)

  15. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

    by Elizabeth Gilbert
    Overcoming the fear of creativity and living an inspired life.

    Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Gilbert offers insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us ... (Goodreads)

  16. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

    by Susan Cain
    An exploration of the power of introversion, examining the implications of modern society's emphasis on extroversion.

    The book that started the Quiet Revolution, At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike ... (Goodreads)

  17. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

    by Carlo Rovelli
    An exploration of the fundamentals of physics, revealing its true beauty.

    All the beauty of modern physics in fewer than a hundred pages. This is a book about the joy of discovery. A playful, entertaining, and mind-bending introduction to modern physics, it's already a ... (Goodreads)

  18. Slouching Towards Bethlehem

    by Joan Didion
    Collection of essays exploring the cultural landscape of 1960s America.

    The first nonfiction work by one of the most distinctive prose stylists of our era, Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem remains, decades after its first publication, the essential portrait of ... (Goodreads)

  19. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

    by Tracy Kidder
    A story of one man's journey to fight poverty, illness, and injustice around the world.

    At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, ... (Goodreads)

  20. We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.

    by Samantha Irby
    Collection of humorous, honest essays exploring experiences of race, gender, and identity in modern society.

    Sometimes you just have to laugh, even when life is a dumpster fire. With We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. , "bitches gotta eat" blogger and comedian Samantha Irby turns the serio-comic essay into ... (Goodreads)

  21. Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity

    by Katherine Boo
    Explores the lives of the people living in Mumbai's slums and the harsh realities they face.

    From Pulitzer Prize-winner Katherine Boo, a landmark work of narrative nonfiction that tells the dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in one of the ... (Goodreads)

  22. Upstream: Selected Essays

    by Mary Oliver
    A collection of essays on the beauty of nature, and the importance of a mindful life.

    Comprising a selection of essays, Upstream finds beloved poet Mary Oliver reflecting on her astonishment and admiration for the natural world and the craft of writing. As she contemplates the ... (Goodreads)

  23. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

    by Jonathan Haidt
    Exploring the underlying moral foundations of political and religious beliefs and how they shape our views.

    An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780307377906 can be found, here., Why can’t our political leaders work together as threats loom and problems mount? Why do people so readily assume the worst about ... (Goodreads)

  24. Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital

    by Sheri Fink
    The gripping story of a hospital during Hurricane Katrina, examining issues of medical ethics and life-saving decisions.

    In the tradition of the best investigative journalism, physician and reporter Sheri Fink reconstructs 5 days at Memorial Medical Center and draws the reader into the lives of those who struggled ... (Goodreads)

  25. Thinking, Fast and Slow

    by Daniel Kahneman
    An exploration of the two systems of the mind, and how they influence decision-making.

    In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow , Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Year of Magical Thinking

    by Joan Didion
    A woman's reflections on life and death after the sudden loss of her husband.

    'An act of consummate literary bravery, a writer known for her clarity allowing us to watch her mind as it becomes clouded with grief.' From one of America's iconic writers, a stunning book of ... (Goodreads)

  27. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

    by Stephen King
    A series of personal reflections on the art of writing, and the power of story-telling.

    "Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King's On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is ... (Goodreads)

  28. Not My Father's Son

    by Alan Cumming
    A memoir of a man's journey to uncover his family's troubled past and reclaim his identity.

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Equal parts memoir, whodunnit, and manual for living . . . a beautifully written, honest look at the forces of blood and bone that make us who we are, and how we make ... (Barnes & Noble)

  29. American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

    by Colin Woodard
    Examination of the cultural divides between the 11 distinct regions of North America.

    An illuminating history of North America's eleven rival cultural regions that explodes the red state-blue state myth. North America was settled by people with distinct religious, political, and ... (Goodreads)

  30. Yes Please

    by Amy Poehler
    Humorous memoir of a celebrated comedian, exploring her life, career, and relationships.

    In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please , she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some ... (Goodreads)