27 great non-fiction audiobooks that are perfect for listening to on long walks, from celebrity memoirs to self-help bestsellers
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- Non-fiction audiobooks are an easy and flexible way to learn something new on the go.
- Plus, narration — especially when the text is read by the author themselves — adds emotion and passion to any story.
- We’ve rounded up readers’ favorites, from humor and history to memoirs and self-help.
As an avid reader, I was growing frustrated with my limited available free time to read. Formerly obsessed with podcasts and perpetually disinterested in reading non-fiction, I found that audiobooks were an incredible way to learn during my commute. Passionate narration from audiobooks shed the textbook-like feeling I often associated with non-fiction reading, especially with memoirs narrated by their own authors.
Audiobooks have grown tremendously as readers discovered they can fit stories even into the busiest schedules. With more and more services offering audiobook streaming — such as Libby, Audible, and Google Play — readers are finding audiobooks as a perfect alternative to physical books. Personally, Libby has quickly become my most-used app. Since it works like a library, I love putting audiobooks on hold, my queue naturally shuffling as more become available.
Popular Reviews
Chanel Miller was previously identified as Emily Doe when her victim statement went viral during Brock Turner’s trial. Now, in her memoir, Chanel recounts her story and process of healing but also encourages us to reexamine how we respond and recover from trauma. Being able to hear Chanel’s voice adds such powerful emotion — don’t be surprised if you shed a few tears over the course of this memoir.
Standout quote: “My pain was never more valuable than his potential.”
Michelle Obama's moving life story
Michelle Obama manages to feel like your personal mentor as she tells her life story from her childhood, to meeting and falling in love with Barack, to the hidden challenges of being First Lady. Divided in three sections — Becoming Me, Becoming Us, and Becoming More — the memoir is as inspiring as it is an honest peek behind the curtain of the Obamas’ lives.
Standout quote: “Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we work for the world as it should be?
Barack Obama's first presidential memoir
If getting through a 768-page memoir feels daunting, the audiobook — narrated by a president especially known for his compelling oration — might be a more approachable option. Hearing beloved former president Barack Obama speak passionately and powerfully in a genuine account of his campaign and presidency makes the 29 hours of the audiobook fly by.
Standout quote: “Whatever you do won’t be enough,” I heard their voices say. “Try anyway.”
Anthony Bourdain's exposing stories about restaurant life
Listening to an audiobook often turns a story into an experience, and hearing the late Chef Anthony Bourdain tell honest tales of classic kitchens is one that will resonate with any reader. This memoir is vulnerable in the sense that it is unyieldingly genuine, never skirting around hard (and often shocking) subjects and reminding us of the legacies great chefs leave behind.
Standout quote: “Good food and good eating are about risk.”
Jessica Simpson's raw narrative of her battles
In this extremely vulnerable memoir, Jessica Simpson outlines the deepest struggles of her life. While most of us see her as one of a long line of blond pop stars in the Britney Spears era, her book details pressure from a media label; unhappiness and manipulation in relationships; and even struggles in her church, all told with a candid voice. As a bonus, the audiobook also includes new songs inspired by her writing.
Standout quote: “Sometimes we are all so afraid to be honest with ourselves because we know that honesty will lead to somewhere.”
Trevor Noah's engaging essays from his life
Born of a Swiss father and a Xhosa mother, Trevor Noah’s birth was illegal and for many years, he was hidden from the government. Though sometimes serious and unsettling, Trevor Noah’s memoir is delivered with warmth and humor as he navigates a world in which he wasn’t allowed to be born.
Standout quote: “We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited.”
Self-Help
Compassionate advocacy for mental health support
When Lori (a therapist) starts to go to therapy herself, she begins to take a deeper look at why we go to therapy (and how it can change our lives). Told in memoir form, this audiobook advocates for mental health by weaving Lori’s personal journey with therapy with those of her patients, showing how anyone can benefit from booking a session.
Standout quote: “But part of getting to know yourself is to unknow yourself—to let go of the limiting stories you’ve told yourself about who you are so that you aren’t trapped by them, so you can live your life and not the story you’ve been telling yourself about your life.”
A framework to improve your life
A self-help meets how-to book, this bestseller aims to help you improve your life by focusing on how you change your habits to reach your goals, no matter what they may be. By addressing the systems of change, it gives readers clearly defined strategies and practical examples to apply to their own lives.
Standout quote: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
A moving guide to self-compassion
Frequently hailed as the type of book that comes into your life exactly when you need it, Pema Chödrön uses Buddhist teachings to help a reader learn how to work and communicate through stressful or difficult periods in life. This book encourages you to have compassion for yourself, your loved ones, and humanity.
Standout quote: “The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.”
A way for introverts to find their voice
Arguing that our society dramatically undervalues introverts, former attorney (and fellow quiet person) Susan Cain demonstrates that there is space for people who aren’t extroverted or loud. Using research, personal anecdotes, and success stories, Cain not only helps more reserved people feel seen — she shows them where caution and quietness can be an enormous strength.
Standout quote: “There’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.”
A roadmap to finding yourself
Half inspirational memoir, half self-help book, “Untamed” welcomes us into Glennon Doyle’s life as she raises her children, leaves her husband to marry her wife, and encourages us to be brave and untamed in a world that often wants to keep us in cages.
Standout quote: “This life is mine alone. So I have stopped asking people for directions to places they’ve never been.”
A key to building resilience in the face of crisis
Grief can feel isolating and terrifying but with this audiobook, you can learn how to take care of yourself and others after experiencing loss. When Option A is no longer available, we can learn to make the most out of Option B.
Standout quote: “I am more vulnerable than I thought, but much stronger than I ever imagined.”
A manual for becoming an empathetic and daring leader
To become caring, empathetic, and effective leaders, we must overhaul the impersonal culture we’ve been taught and return to humanity. Based on two decades of research, Brené Brown teaches us how to become and raise daringly vulnerable leaders through real strategies and demonstrated applications.
Standout quote: “At the end of the day, at the end of the week, at the end of my life, I want to say I contributed more than I criticized.”
Comedy
A memoir on honest, funny, and sometimes gross life advice
Narrated in letters to her daughters, comedian Ali Wong shares enlightening wisdom through personal stories of motherhood, making it as a comedian, reconnecting with her East Asian heritage, and “trapping” their father into marriage.
Standout quote: “You have suffered enough.” That became my mantra for motherhood from there on out. You have suffered enough. If you can make it easier, make it easier, and don’t feel guilty about it.”
A mortician answering kids' questions about our post-mortem bodies
A dark subject matter made light, this book has no business being as funny as it is. Caitlin Doughty, a mortician, takes the most asked questions from kids (“What would happen if you die on a plane?” or “What would happen if you swallowed a bag of popcorn before you were cremated?”) and applies sarcasm and humor to answer them all without leaving the reader feeling heavy about death.
Standout quote: “Sometimes death can be violent, sudden, and unbearably sad. But it’s also reality, and reality doesn’t change just because you don’t like it.”
A severely funny memoir on accomplishments and setbacks
It’s been a pattern for famous “SNL” cast members to write memoirs, from Tina Fey to Amy Poehler, but Colin Jost will have you laughing in the first five minutes with his ridiculous stories, self-deprecation, and long list of all the names he’s been called.
Standout quote: “No one in comedy (or any field, really) succeeds in a vacuum. And the faster you find friends who challenge you and sometimes make you jealous, the faster you’ll grow as a comedian (and regress as a human).”
Exceptional storytelling of Greek mythology
Stephen Fry’s audio contributes significant entertainment to a complex tapestry of Greek mythology, relating classic stories to our modern world through pathos and humor. Through this chronological collection of short stories, you’ll undoubtedly learn something new about Greek myths (while savoring all of Fry’s witty interjections).
Standout quote: “Gaia visited her daughter Mnemosyne, who was busy being unpronounceable.”
History
An immersive narrative into the American caste system
Shaped on the deeply researched premise that America was built on a caste system, this book is profoundly thought-provoking and challenges how we’ve always understood America’s culture, economy, and politics.
Standout quote: “We are responsible for our own ignorance or, with time and openhearted enlightenment, our own wisdom.”
A vivid experience of a historical day
This audiobook is a compilation of first-hand accounts from September 11th, 2001. To put it lightly, it’s an emotional experience, heightened by the individual narrations from each storyteller.
Standout quote: “Sen. John Glenn, a dear friend, came by. I said, “Did you see that? A pilot flew into the World Trade Center.” He said, “Pilots don’t fly into buildings. That wasn’t a pilot.”
A new exposition of an infamous school shooting
A definitive account from an investigative reporter who followed the story for 10 years, this story challenges what we knew about one of the most notorious school shootings in America’s history.
Standout quote: “The final portrait is often the furthest from the truth.”
A chronicle on how racism shaped American history
The narration keeps this expertly written book moving at a fast pace, capturing a full image anti-Black ideas in America. If you like this one, Ibram X Kendi and Jason Reynolds wrote a shorter, anti-racist companion: “Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You.”
Standout quote: “The beneficiaries of slavery, segregation, and mass incarceration have produced racist ideas of Black people being best suited for or deserving of the confines of slavery, segregation, or the jail cell.”
Social Justice
A collection of essays on being a better feminist
This book turns a light on the blind spot of feminism: racial inclusion. Through a collection of essays, Mikki Kendall argues how food insecurity, access to medical care, and gun violence are all feminist issues, often forgotten by the larger feminist movement.
Standout quote: “For a movement that is meant to represent all women, it often centers on those who already have most of their needs met.”
A YA Pride read on the account of a hate crime
In this queer YA non-fiction, two very different teenagers’ lives intersect for only eight minutes a day. A single impulsive interaction involving a lighter and a skirt leads to two hate crime charges and severe burns, changing both of their lives forever.
Standout quote: “There are two kinds of people in the world. Male and Female. Gay and Straight. Black and White. Normal and Weird. Cis and Trans. There are two kinds of people in the world. Saints and Sinners. Victims and Villains. Cruel and Kind. Guilty and Innocent. There are two kinds of people in the world. Just two. Just two. Only two.”
A straightforward conversation about race in America
With a clear and authentic voice, this book tackles structural injustice head-on. Each topic begins with a personal narrative before diving into invaluable knowledge to aid in anti-racist learning and living. Blunt and passionate, Oluo teaches in such a way that these lessons naturally become a part of your life.
Standout quote: “When we identify where our privilege intersects with somebody else’s oppression, we’ll find our opportunities to make real change.”
A personal account of Blackness in a white world
Greatly personal in the trenches of America’s racial divide, this story shows how a world that outwardly appears to value “diversity” above all else still fails to conquer racial injustice. By no means written to comfort white people, Austin Channing Brown explores being a Black woman in a world built for white people but how embracing and including Blackness could change the world.
Standout quote: “Our only chance at dismantling racial injustice is being more curious about its origins than we are worried about our comfort.”
An eye-opening read on race and the prison industry
An accessible telling of an extensive issue, this book exposes the concept that slavery has transformed to the current mass incarceration of Black men. Michelle Alexander, a lawyer, uses inarguable statistics to arm anti-racist readers in the fight for equality.
Standout quote: “The nature of the criminal justice system has changed. It is no longer primarily concerned with the prevention and punishment of crime, but rather with the management and control of the dispossessed.”
A guide to the difficult questions America needs to ask
An invitation for people to have honest and difficult discussions about racism in America, this book is a follow-on to Emmanuel Acho’s successful internet series, acknowledging that these conversations must happen in order to make real progress.
Standout quote: “There is a fix. But in order to access it, we’re going to have to have some uncomfortable conversations.”
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