Books like As If By Accident by Julie Johnston

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks follows the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken in 1951 without her consent and later became the first immortal human cell line, HeLa, driving major scientific breakthroughs while raising questions of ethics, race, and medical exploitation.

Neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi’s poignant memoir chronicles his battle with stage IV metastatic lung cancer and his reflections on life, medicine, and mortality.

In Mumbai’s slums, families chase better lives as India’s prosperity rises, revealing the human side of global inequality.

The Orphan Master's Son follows a man's journey through propaganda, identity, and state power in North Korea.

After the sudden death of her husband, a grieving Dublin wife receives a series of heartfelt monthly letters, each a testament of love that helps her reclaim hope and life.

Multiracial fiction

Henry James’s novel *The American* reprinted with a textual history, background notes, source materials, and critical essays.

After the sudden death of her husband, Rocky rededicates her life as an animal control warden on a remote Maine island, where she slowly heals through an unlikely bond with a wounded Labrador named Lloyd and new human connections.

After the tragic death of her eldest son, Lee Reston, a mid‑forty widow, finds new love and healing with her son's best friend, police officer Christopher Lallek, while navigating family dynamics and newfound affection from her daughter.

A powerful true story of a Syrian refugee’s desperate survival at sea, holding two infants in an inflatable ring while her life and hope are threatened by a wrecked ship and hostile waters.

"Ambushed! Molly Kilpatrick was a dead woman. She'd managed to keep ahead of the criminals who wanted to kill her, but she knew her luck was almost up ... until she read about Jasmine Wolfe. Jasmine had been missing for years, and Molly resembled her enough that it would be easy for Molly to assume her identity. All she had to do was convince Jasmine's fiancé, Cash McCall, that she was the woman he had supposedly loved and lost. One look at the sexy sheriff and she knew trying to convince him wouldn't be a hardship. But by becoming Jasmine, Molly had only exchanged one set of murderers for another. Someone wanted Jasmine dead and would stop at nothing to make sure that this time she stayed that way."--P. [4] of cover. "High-caliber cowboy: As the black sheep in the family, Brandon McCall wasn't exactly expected to be the one rescuing damsels in distress. But Anna Austin was in trouble, and he'd never been one to walk away from a beautiful woman. Anna was determined to find out what had happened to her past, her parents. And someone clearly wanted those secrets to remain buried. They'd already proved they were willing to kill to do it. Could Brandon protect Anna long enough for her to uncover the truth?"--P. [4] of cover.

Blaming is a psychological fiction set in England that focuses on the lives of widows.

A moving memoir by Annie Dillard that recounts her childhood in Pittsburgh during the 1950s.

Good Grief is a witty, heart‑warming debut that follows a young widowed woman as she rebuilds her life and learns to confront grief, loss, and self‑discovery after her husband’s death.

Millions adored Daphne Fields, for she shared their passion, their pain, their joy, and their sorrow. But America's most popular novelist remained a closed book to the world -- guarding her life with a fierce privacy no reporter could crack. Her life hides a myriad of secrets. The husband and daughter she lost in a fire. The son who barely survived it and would be deaf forever. The victories, the defeats, the challenges of facing life as a woman alone and helping her son meet the challenges of his handicap. A strong woman, she would not accept defeat, or help from anyone ... until she found she could no longer face it alone.

After Maribel’s life‑saving recovery, the Rivera family seeks a new life in Delaware, but cultural and linguistic hurdles threaten to derail their hopes for the American Dream.