10 books like Ellie Dwyer's Great Escape

By Diane Winger,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like Ellie Dwyer's Great Escape. Shepherd is a community of 8,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Living the RV Life

By Julie Bennett, Marc Bennett,

Book cover of Living the RV Life: Your Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road

Alyssa Padgett Author Of A Beginner's Guide to Living in an RV: Everything I Wish I Knew Before Full-Time RVing Across America

From the list on living in a RV for a beginner.

Who am I?

In 2014, Alyssa Padgett convinced her husband Heath to take her to all 50 states for their honeymoon. Somehow he tricked her into doing it all in an RV. They’ve lived and traveled in an RV ever since. With her husband, Alyssa runs The RV Entrepreneur Podcast, a resource for anyone who wants to run a business while RVing.

Alyssa's book list on living in a RV for a beginner

Discover why each book is one of Alyssa's favorite books.

Why did Alyssa love this book?

In addition to sharing a ton of helpful insight into what RV life is like, this book is beautifully designed and full of colorful photos. It includes profiles of RVers, tips for starting RVing, and plenty of inspiration to hit the road. It’s a perfect coffee table book!

Living the RV Life

By Julie Bennett, Marc Bennett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Living the RV Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Whether you’re downsizing or thrill-seeking—or anything in between—find out if the RV lifestyle is right for you, and learn how to transition from a life of traditional home-ownership to one on the road.

Do you love traveling? Meeting new people and seeing new places? Are you craving a life that feels meaningful and new? The RV lifestyle could be the answer.

Both aspirational and practical, Living the RV Life is your ultimate guide to living life on the road—for people of all ages looking to downsize, travel, or work on the go. Learn if life in a motor home is…


Live Camp Work

By Sharee Collier,

Book cover of Live Camp Work: How to Make Money While Living in an RV and Travel Full-Time, Plus 1000+ Employers Who Hire RVers

Alyssa Padgett Author Of A Beginner's Guide to Living in an RV: Everything I Wish I Knew Before Full-Time RVing Across America

From the list on living in a RV for a beginner.

Who am I?

In 2014, Alyssa Padgett convinced her husband Heath to take her to all 50 states for their honeymoon. Somehow he tricked her into doing it all in an RV. They’ve lived and traveled in an RV ever since. With her husband, Alyssa runs The RV Entrepreneur Podcast, a resource for anyone who wants to run a business while RVing.

Alyssa's book list on living in a RV for a beginner

Discover why each book is one of Alyssa's favorite books.

Why did Alyssa love this book?

Finding a way to make money is the biggest hurdle to full-time travel. Most of our RVing friends have tried work camping at some point. It can be a great way to save money or stay in awesome places for extended periods of time, like national parks. In this book, Sharee shares what work camping is, how to find jobs, and 1000+ employers you can contact for work camping gigs. This is a great resource for anyone starting full-time life, but needs to save a little extra money each month by saving on camping fees.

Live Camp Work

By Sharee Collier,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Make Your RV Dreams, Your New Reality! By Workamping...

"Anything you ever wanted to know about Workamping, even if you didn't know what to ask. This book is an excellent resource for anyone looking to get into Workamping - or improving your experience if you've already started. I'll be doing this when I retire and trust me, this book will be my guide." -Deb.M (Amazon Customer)

ABOUT HIS BOOK:

Live Camp Work is a practical guide full of information we obtained throughout our RV travel adventure. We learned early on, that securing reliable income was the biggest challenge for RVing…


Take Risks

By Joe Russo,

Book cover of Take Risks: One Couple’s Journey to Quit Their Jobs and Hit the Open Road

Alyssa Padgett Author Of A Beginner's Guide to Living in an RV: Everything I Wish I Knew Before Full-Time RVing Across America

From the list on living in a RV for a beginner.

Who am I?

In 2014, Alyssa Padgett convinced her husband Heath to take her to all 50 states for their honeymoon. Somehow he tricked her into doing it all in an RV. They’ve lived and traveled in an RV ever since. With her husband, Alyssa runs The RV Entrepreneur Podcast, a resource for anyone who wants to run a business while RVing.

Alyssa's book list on living in a RV for a beginner

Discover why each book is one of Alyssa's favorite books.

Why did Alyssa love this book?

Jumping into full-time travel in an RV is daunting. Joe and his wife Kait quit their high-paying jobs, sold their house, and set off to see the world. In his book, Joe covers the whole transition from normal life to becoming a digital nomad, all following the mantra his father passed down to him: take risks.

Take Risks

By Joe Russo,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

What if you could walk away from the pressures and stresses of corporate life, and live outside of the routines and restrictions? What if you could choose where you live on a daily basis, have a beach view on Monday and a view of the mountains on Friday? What if, instead of trading your days and weeks and years for a life deferred, you just went and lived that life right now?These were the questions Joe and Kait Russo asked themselves as they faced endless corporate meetings, inconvenient business trips, and the crushing stress of ‘making it.’ It all changed…


Growing Up Roadschooled

By Kelsey Henry,

Book cover of Growing Up Roadschooled: Stories, Lyrics, & Lessons Learned From Full-Time RVing & Life After Roadschooling

Alyssa Padgett Author Of A Beginner's Guide to Living in an RV: Everything I Wish I Knew Before Full-Time RVing Across America

From the list on living in a RV for a beginner.

Who am I?

In 2014, Alyssa Padgett convinced her husband Heath to take her to all 50 states for their honeymoon. Somehow he tricked her into doing it all in an RV. They’ve lived and traveled in an RV ever since. With her husband, Alyssa runs The RV Entrepreneur Podcast, a resource for anyone who wants to run a business while RVing.

Alyssa's book list on living in a RV for a beginner

Discover why each book is one of Alyssa's favorite books.

Why did Alyssa love this book?

With so many families working and schooling remotely, there’s been a huge influx of teens and kids RVing for extended periods of time. Kelsey was roadschooled from ages 12-17 and shares the highs and lows of life on the road as a teenager. (It also makes a great read for parents wondering if full-time RV life is worth it for their kids!)

Growing Up Roadschooled

By Kelsey Henry,

Why should I read it?

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


Heroes of the Frontier

By Dave Eggers,

Book cover of Heroes of the Frontier

Linda Collison Author Of Looking for Redfeather

From the list on classic literary road trips worth reading.

Who am I?

Somehow, I keep moving. I love going places and I love reading about explorers, itinerants, migrants, wanderers, and lost souls on the move. Looking for Redfeather started out as my National Novel Writing Month novel; the first draft, written in a mad dash during November 2007, when I was on the road, promoting my novel, Star-Crossed, a novel that also involves traveling. Looking for Redfeather was inspired by members of my own family—young people bent but not broken, malcontents on a mission, seeking something, but what? Published in 2013, it's a 21st century-coming-of-age road story, my tongue-in-cheek homage to Jack Kerouac, and the runaway teen still hiding out in my old soul.

Linda's book list on classic literary road trips worth reading

Discover why each book is one of Linda's favorite books.

Why did Linda love this book?

I’m a huge fan of Dave Eggers’ writing and Heroes of the Frontier was a bumpy back road into the wilds of Alaska and straight to my literary heart. His protagonist is a single mother on the lam from her ex-husband and leaving behind her profession, lost to a lawsuit. In spite of the character’s desperation, Eggers makes me laugh, he makes me cringe with embarrassment, he makes me feel like these characters are family. Like a real road trip, I sometimes found myself wondering Are we there yet? But I forgive him for the extra miles and all that time behind the wheel—the adventure and Eggers’ insights into contemporary American society were worth it. 

Heroes of the Frontier

By Dave Eggers,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

THE NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER

'The mirror image of Eggers's brilliantly dystopian The Circle... [A] state of the nation novel, cleansing the spirit and lifting the heart' Guardian

A hilarious and heart-warming misadventure through modern America: it's time for the family vacation...

Josie's life is falling apart - lawsuits raining down, her business down the drain and a feckless husband long gone - so she gathers up her two kids and lights out for the wilderness. The Alaskan wilderness, to be specific.

This is a story about the trip of a lifetime. It involves one battered old RV,…


Dogtripping

By David Rosenfelt,

Book cover of Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure

Laura T. Coffey Author Of My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts

From the list on people who love sweet old dogs.

Who am I?

I’m a dog nut who loves reflecting on the powerful life lessons we can learn as we watch our furry best friends age happily and gratefully by our sides. I’ve also been working as a journalist for more than 30 years now — so that makes me one of the oldest dogs in my own newsroom. I’m a senior writer and editor for the website of NBC’s TODAY show, and the My Old Dog book stemmed from a viral TODAY.com story I wrote about photographer Lori Fusaro’s efforts to change people’s perceptions of older shelter animals. Writing that story was one of the best things that ever happened to me!

Laura's book list on people who love sweet old dogs

Discover why each book is one of Laura's favorite books.

Why did Laura love this book?

When photographer Lori Fusaro and I were traveling around the country working on our book together, we made a point of hightailing it to Maine so we could visit the idyllic retirement oasis created by author David Rosenfelt and his wife Debbie Myers for themselves and more than 20 large, geriatric rescue dogs. Rosenfelt’s book Dogtripping chronicles the couple’s cross-country retirement move from California to Maine with all those aging dogs in three RVs with the help of volunteers who were fans of Rosenfelt’s mystery novels. It’s a HOOT! You can watch a Facebook Live video of Rosenfelt discussing his Dogtripping book with me here at an event sponsored by The Grey Muzzle Organization, one of my favorite charities that helps senior dogs in need.

Dogtripping

By David Rosenfelt,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

David Rosenfelt's Dogtripping is moving and funny account of a cross-country move from California to Maine, and the beginnings of a dog rescue foundation

When mystery writer David Rosenfelt and his family moved from Southern California to Maine, he thought he had prepared for everything. They had mapped the route, brought three GPSs for backup, as well as refrigerators full of food, and stoves and microwaves on which to cook them. But traveling with twenty-five dogs turned out to be a bigger ordeal than he anticipated, despite the RVs, the extra kibble, volunteers (including a few readers), and camping equipment.…


June Bug

By Chris Fabry,

Book cover of June Bug

Sarah Loudin Thomas Author Of The Finder of Forgotten Things

From the list on making you feel like you’re in Almost Heaven, WV.

Who am I?

I’m a seventh-generation West Virginian. My husband and I own the farm that’s been in my family since before the Civil War. My Appalachian roots are sunk deep, so when it comes to “writing what you know,” this is it! I was baptized in stories by my father who transformed my ancestors and my history into a living, breathing cast of characters I longed to meet. So, I began to write their stories in the guise of novels about made-up people. My seven novels (and two novellas) are love letters to the place that shaped me. 

Sarah's book list on making you feel like you’re in Almost Heaven, WV

Discover why each book is one of Sarah's favorite books.

Why did Sarah love this book?

I can just imagine Chris Fabry saying, “Hey, let’s set a retelling of Les Miserable in West Virginia!” Which is exactly what he does in June Bug, resulting in a story that’s just as wonderful and heart-rending as its inspiration. June Bug is traveling the country with her father in an RV. Then, one day, she sees her own face on a poster for missing children. What if her father isn’t her father? Well worth picking up a copy to find out!

June Bug

By Chris Fabry,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From the best-selling author of War Room comes a Christy Award finalist, now a Lifetime original movie called Child of Grace.
“I believed everything my daddy told me until I walked into Wal-Mart and saw my picture on a little poster . . .” For as long as she can remember, June Bug and her father have traveled the back roads of the country in their beat-up RV, spending many nights parked at Wal-Mart. One morning, as she walks past the greeter at the front of the store, her eyes are drawn to the pictures of missing children, where she…


Wildfire

By Annabel Allan,

Book cover of Wildfire

Estelle Pettersen Author Of Rainbow Desire

From the list on romance with a thrilling plot.

Who am I?

I am a big fan of romance books with thrilling plots. It’s partly how I remember the stories years later. When I wrote Flowers for Kate in the Rainbow Desire anthology, it started as a pure romance, but I added a supernatural thrill. One reader admitted checking over her shoulder in case a spectral being was there while reading the story. I love writing stories with twists and turns, and surprising readers. Maybe it comes from my childhood days of being a Scooby-Doo fan—I loved the thrill of guessing the mysteries behind each character and the villain being unmasked. I’m an ex-journalist who has published romance stories from erotic to sweet.

Estelle's book list on romance with a thrilling plot

Discover why each book is one of Estelle's favorite books.

Why did Estelle love this book?

Wildfire starts with the protagonist Stephanie Fournier working as an assistant in a boring 9 to 5 job. Yet, this book is anything but boring. Things heat up very fast when gorgeous CEO Robert Quinlan notices her, and the two become passionate. There’s a catch…she’s a virgin. Will his sudden disinterest in Stephanie mean the end of a romance? Or, can experts be seduced by amateurs? And, there is trouble brewing when another woman’s jealousy bubbles over Quinlan. Wildfire is book one in the Smoke Chaser series. It’s packed with great dialogue, a ruthless female antagonist who drops nasty surprises in Stephanie’s path, and a fiery romance that honors the story’s title. 

Wildfire

By Annabel Allan,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Stephanie Fournier is an assistant at a law firm in Toronto, Ontario. Her boring 9 to 5 starts to heat up when Robert Quinlan, the gorgeous CEO of the company, takes a special interest in her. At first she responds to his obvious interest with glee... and then he finds out she's a virgin.

His sudden disinterest is not only embarrassing, but awkward around the workplace, especially with an undeniable heat still present between them. Stephanie sets out to prove she's unshaken, only to entice him back into her thrall. But can an amateur really win over an expert in…


Lake of Fire

By Mark Stevens,

Book cover of Lake of Fire

Chris Goff Author Of A Parliament of Owls

From the list on mysteries on rogue women spending time outdoors.

Who am I?

I grew up in a small, rural, mountain community in Colorado, which is where I learned to love the outdoors. I explored every inch of “my mountain” with my dog, Blueberry. I skied by age three, and my father taught me to fish, shoot a rifle and drive a Jeep before I turned twelve. And I loved to read. To my good fortune, a small stone house at the bottom of our hill housed the public library. The librarian was my best friend. My favorites were mysteries, suspense, and thrillers with strong female characters, which is how I came to be a mystery writer and a founding member of the Rogue Women Writers.

Chris' book list on mysteries on rogue women spending time outdoors

Discover why each book is one of Chris' favorite books.

Why did Chris love this book?

Stevens does an incredible job of whipping up a firestorm. Lake of Fire is a must-read for anyone interested in knowing what it’s like to live in the Colorado mountains. Allison Coil is a Colorado hunting guide, and the book opens with a giant wildfire raging through Colorado’s Flat Top Wilderness. It wipes out Allison’s hunting grounds and bears down on her boyfriend’s family ranch. In the fire’s aftermath, she is shocked to learn a friend, a reclusive environmentalist with an unorthodox idea for battling global warming has died in the fire. Determined to find justice for him, Allison digs into an underground group of anti-government extremists, only to have them strike back, hurting those closest to her. Allison doesn’t back down, never afraid to protect the people and places she loves. Her passion is inspiring.

Lake of Fire

By Mark Stevens,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A giant wildfire is roaring through Colorado’s Flat Tops Wilderness. The massive blaze is wiping out Allison Coil’s precious hunting grounds and the flames have set their sights on the beautiful ranch owned by her boyfriend’s family. Backwoods survivalist Devo finds a body in the blackened forest. The dead man turns out to be a reclusive environmentalist with an unorthodox idea for the battle against global warming. The dead man was no stranger to Allison or her longtime friend, Trudy Heath. Allison, with help from Glenwood Springs reporter Duncan Bloom, burrows into an underground world of haters who harbor a…


A Fire Story

By Brian Fies,

Book cover of A Fire Story

Jess Barber Author Of Reckoning 2: Creative Writing on Environmental Justice

From the list on climate disaster.

Who am I?

I'm a speculative fiction writer who often works within the genre of "climate fiction." I grew up in southern Appalachia; my hometown is a lovely place, surrounded by the beauty and wildness of the Smoky Mountains. It also happens to be centered around a chemical company where a large portion of the town works, including my father and, for a brief time, myself. I've been fascinated with the dichotomy of nature and industry for a long time, and have spent years exploring these themes in my own work.

Jess' book list on climate disaster

Discover why each book is one of Jess' favorite books.

Why did Jess love this book?

Another fire, another story, this one a graphic memoir about the 2017 wildfires that ravaged Northern California, claiming dozens of lives and destroying the author's home. It's a beautiful book, illustrated with a simplicity and starkness that pulls you inexorably forward. The night of the fire itself is present in the narrative, but the majority of the book is occupied with what comes after: the unexpected kindness of friends and strangers, the nonlinear progression of grief, the bureaucracy and absurdism of tragedy, and all the questions of how you begin to rebuild.

A Fire Story

By Brian Fies,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Early morning on Monday, October 9, 2017, wildfires burned through Northern California, resulting in 44 fatalities. In addition, 6,200 homes and 8,900 structures and were destroyed. Author Brian Fies's firsthand account of this tragic event is an honest, unflinching depiction of his personal experiences, including losing his house and every possession he and his wife had that didn't fit into the back of their car. In the days that followed, as the fires continued to burn through the area, Brian hastily pulled together A Fire Story and posted it online-it immediately went viral. He is now expanding his original webcomic…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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