I will survive.

Mercy, David. BERSERK. This incredible true adventure tells of three men who sail to Antarctica on a twenty-seven-foot sailboat. Along the way, they face physical dangers as well as the inner struggles of their own personal journeys.

Dickinson, Matt. BLACK ICE. Compelling Antarctic adventure combines scientific exploration of a deep underground lake with an egotistical explorer's maniacal efforts to complete a trek by foot across the treacherous landscape.

Runyon, Brent. THE BURN JOURNALS. At fourteen, for reasons unknown even to himself, Brent Runyon attempts suicide by setting himself on fire. While spending many months in the hospital recovering from both physical and emotional scars, he attempts to discover the reasons for his actions,

Halpin, Brendan. DONORBOY. When her two morns are killed in a car accident, Ros is sent to live with her sperm-donor father. Funny, tender, and sad feelings flow through the journal entries, e-mails, and IMs that finally bring them together.

Walls, Jeannette. THE GLASS CASTLE. Journalist Jeannette Walls chronicles her bizarre childhood during which she and her siblings were uprooted by their vagabond parents.

Hillman, Laura. I WILL PLANT YOU A LILAC TREE: A MEMOIR OF A SCHINDLER'S LIST SURVIVOR. Once a student at a private school in Berlin in 1942, Laura "Hannelore" Hillman volunteers for deportation to be with her family. She survives deprivation, inhumane conditions, and near-starvation in several Nazi concentration camps until her name appears on Schindler's List.

Gottlieb, Lori. STICK FIGURE: A DIARY OF MY FORMER SELF. Growing up in Beverly Hills in the 1970s, Lori keeps a diary of her thoughts about her body, dieting, and eating while in the hospital and during her recovery from anorexia.

Davis, Sampson. WE BEAT THE STREET: HOW A FRIENDSHIP PACT HELPED US SUCCEED. This engaging biography tells the story of three men from a rough New Jersey neighborhood whose support of each other helped them overcome obstacles on their way to medical degrees.

Childers, Mary. WELFARE BRAT. Growing up a poor white girl in the Bronx in the 1960s, Mary Childers tells the story of a childhood marred by violence, poverty, neglect, and shame. She paints a vivid portrait of a family fighting for survival.

Maynard, Joyce. THE USUAL RULES. Wendy's life changes in every way when she goes to live with her father in California after her mother's death in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.