He is the author of the memoir A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea. He has written for a number of magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Outside Magazine, and Men's Journal. His short story collection, Legend of a Suicide (Penguin Viking, ISBN: 978-0-14104-378-4), won the 2007 Grace Paley Prize, a California Book Award, and has appeared on 15 "best books of the year" lists, including the Times Literary Supplement and The New York Times