Books like No sugar by Jack Davis

A weary father and his young son journey across a bleak, post‑apocalyptic America, battling cannibals, starvation, and a harsh winter in a desperate quest for safety and a glimpse of remaining civilization.

After graduating college, journalist Jon Krakauer traces the true story of Christopher McCandless, a young adventurer who abandoned possessions, took the name Alexander Supertramp, and ventured into Alaska’s wilderness, where he met his untimely death.

Bill Bryson humorously chronicles a two–person hike along the Appalachian Trail, mixing lively anecdotes with insightful looks at its history, ecology, and the people who live along the route.

Jeannette Walls' memoir chronicles her turbulent childhood in a dysfunctional, itinerant family, detailing poverty, alcoholism, and homelessness across the United States as she seeks stability and personal growth.

A memoir of a woman who overcomes a strict survivalist Mormon upbringing in rural Idaho to pursue higher education, ultimately earning a PhD in history at Cambridge.

In Tim Winton’s sweeping Australian novel, the Lamb and Pickle families, both scarred by tragedy, become intertwined in a sprawling house that serves as a microcosm of working‑class life.

very good

*"Although this is Australian author Tsiolkas’ fourth novel, it is the first to be published in the U.S. With its raw style, liberal use of profanity and racial epithets, and laserlike focus on the travails of suburban life, it is a down-and-dirty version of Tom Perrotta’s best-selling Little Children (2004). At a barbecue in a Melbourne suburb, a man loses his temper and slaps the child of the host’s friends. This incident unleashes a slew of divisive opinions, pitting friends and families against each other as the child’s parents take the man to court. Told from eight different viewpoints, the novel also deftly fills in disparate backstories encompassing young and old, single and married, gay and straight, as well as depicting how multiculturalism is increasingly impacting the traditional Aussie ethos. For good measure, the author also throws in male vanity, infidelity, and homophobia. Tsiolkas’ in-your-face style is sure to alienate some readers—the child’s parents, for example, are among the book’s most unlikable characters—but his novel, which won the 2009 Commonwealth Prize, fairly radiates with vitality as it depicts the messy complications of family life."* -- Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist

A powerful tale of an Australian penal settlement featuring a young man transported for a murder he did not commit.

The autobiographical thriller-drama DON'T ASK FOR SUGAR is about the extraordinary adventures of a young European man who falls head over heels in love in Bangkok with a beautiful New Zealander woman who has been traveling the world for years. The two have a happy life in Western Australia. Christoph, who struggles along as a garden helper for lack of a work permit, admires the experienced Suzanne, who works as a well-paid nude model at Perth's university. One weekend, the future is predicted for both of them. According to the fortune teller in the small chapel, Suzanne will soon be living far south and pursuing an ancient profession there, but when she holds Christoph's hand, the seer suddenly trembles and sees dark forces and sinister demons. Shortly afterwards, Suzanne is offered an extraordinarily cheap plane ticket to New Zealand, and as she hasn't been home for a very long time, she makes a spontaneous decision, whereupon the world falls apart for Christoph as he loses the love of his life. A few days later, however, Christoph pulls himself together again, sells his car and hitchhikes through the middle of the Australian desert to get some fresh ideas from new impressions. But can he simply forget Suzanne? After three weeks in New South Wales, he meets Dave, an Australian, and Bryce, a Scotsman. The two of them have been in a car accident. One of the tires is flat. A headlight is broken. Having managed to pull the mudguard out, the young men decide to drive north for two days because the small coastal town of Cairns at the Great Barrier Reef turns into a party hotspot at the end of the year when divers from all over the world wash up on its beaches together with jellyfish. This is a true story and it's far from over.

Set in Bigelow, Arkansas, *Sugar* follows a young African American prostitute as she leaves her past behind and seeks a fresh start, exploring themes of resilience, friendship, and hope.