activities adrenaline adventure anecdotes autobiography beach-culture biography biologicalsciences collegesuccess competition courage english escapism exploration finnegan friendship hawaii health internationaltravel largetypebooks memoir nature newyorktimesbestseller nostalgia nutrition nyt:expeditions-disasters-and-adventures=2016-05-08 ocean personal-growth personalmemoirs self-discovery sports surfers surfing travel unitedstates wanderlust waves william