Popular Oceanian Memoir Books
Find memoir books written by authors from Oceania for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (41)
Fiji32.
Road No Good by Bridget Isichei EN
AustraliaDescription:
What happens when a young New Zealand woman feels the need to escape the online reality that is her life and goes in search of 'real' life experience in poverty-stricken Vanuatu? Bridget Isichei wanted to make a difference in the world; she wanted to help people. However, she didn't know what she was in for when she accepted a two-year volunteer humanitarian post to set up preschools and train women to be teachers in the popular tourist destination of Vanuatu. Instead of cocktails by the sea in a luxury resort, Bridget found herself in Luganville, a shanty town whose inhabitants were still pra... continue
33.
Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby EN
Description:
The memoir from Australia's much-loved comedian, Hannah Gadsby, whose stand-up show and self-described swan-song, Nanette, played to sold-out houses in Australia, the UK and the US. Its launch on Netflix, and subsequent Emmy and Peabody wins, took Nanette (and Hannah) to the world.
34.
The Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw EN
Country: Oceania / 
New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Ruth Shaw weaves together stories of the characters who visit her bookshops, musings about her favourite books, and bittersweet stories from her full and varied life before bookshops. She sailed through the Pacific for years, was held up by pirates, worked at Sydney's King's Cross with drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on numerous environmental issues, and worked the yacht Breaksea Girl as an expedition/tourist boat with her husband, Lance. But underlining all her wanderings and adventures are some very deep losses and long-held pain. Balancing that out is her beautiful love story with ... continue
35.
The Woman Who Fooled The World : Belle Gibson's Cancer Con, and the Darkness at the Heart of the Wellness Industry by Beau Donelly, Nick Toscano EN
Description:
Belle Gibson convinced the world she had healed herself of terminal brain cancer by eating a healthy diet. She built a global business based on her story. There was just one problem: she never had cancer in the first place. In 2015, journalists uncovered the truth behind Gibson's lies. This hero of the wellness world, with over 200,000 followers, international book deals, and a best-selling mobile app, was a fraud. She had lied about having cancer -- to her family and friends, to her business partners and publishers, and to the hundreds of thousands of people who were inspired by her, includin... continue
36.
Three Wild Dogs (and the Truth) : A Memoir by Markus Zusak EN
Description:
In this poignant, funny, and disarmingly honest memoir, one of the world's most beloved storytellers, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book Thief, tells of his family's adoption of three troublesome rescue dogs--a charming and courageous love story about making even the most incorrigible of animals family. There's a madman dog beside me, and the hounds of memory ahead of us . . . It's love and beasts and wild mistakes, and regret, but never to change things. What happens when the Zusak family opens their home to three big, wild, street-hardened dogs--Reuben, more wolf than hound... continue
37.
Through the Eyes of a Foster Child : My Childhood in Over 30 New Zealand Homes by Daryl Brougham EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
In 1990, at the age of ten, Daryl Brougham was told by a social worker that he was useless and would end up in jail. By 1997, he had attended 27 schools, been through over 30 social workers and lived in more than 30 different foster homes. During his 18 years as a state ward he suffered repeated sexual, physical, emotional and psychological abuse. Imagine coming home to be told you are moving somewhere new in half an hour. Imagine being forced to eat a spider. Imagine drinking from the toilet bowl because you¿re too scared to go near the kitchen. Imagine what you would become after all those y... continue
38.
Tracks : A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback by Robyn Davidson EN
Description:
The author recounts her almost two-thousand mile journey across Australia with nothing but a dog and some camels for company.
39.
Unbearable Lightness : A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia de Rossi EN
Description:
“An unusually fresh and engrossing memoir of both Hollywood and modern womanhood.” —Los Angeles Times In this searing, unflinchingly honest memoir, actress Portia de Rossi shares the truth of her long battle to overcome anorexia and bulimia while living in the public eye, and details the new happiness and health she has found in recent years—including her coming out and her marriage to Ellen DeGeneres. In this groundbreaking memoir, Portia de Rossi reveals the pain and illness that haunted her for decades, from the time she was a twelve-year-old girl working as a model in Australia, through he... continue
40.
View from the summit by Sir Edmund Hillary EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
In a memoir by the first man to reach the peak of Everest, Hillary discusses the adventures that shaped his life, from the South Pole to the Ganges River.