Live to See the Day: Impossible Goals, Unimaginable Futures, and the Pursuit of Things That May Never Be

by Mark Medley

An imaginative study of human nature, Live to See the Day is a globe-trotting exploration of what drives certain people to pursue a dream beyond all logic, reason, or reward.

Why do people pursue impossible goals?

In Live to See the Day, journalist Mark Medley sets out to find people who straddle the line between determination and delusion, who have devoted their lives to dreams they know have little chance of coming true, or that will only come to pass in decades—if not centuries—from now. Over the course of five years, and through interviews with more than 250 people, he immersed himself in a question we all reckon with personally in our lives: how to push forward when the world is telling you to give up. Travelling to the jungles of Indonesia to encounter a photographer who has devoted his life to pursuing a mystery ape; to the forests of Norway, where a time-bending artist is amassing books that will only be read a hundred years from now; to the deserts of the American Southwest, where he shadows a grizzled treasure hunter who has spent his life searching for a legendary lost fortune, Medley asks: What keeps these people going? Why start a race they know they’ll never finish?

Paddling across a quiet volcanic lake in Sumatra, under the eye-blue sky on a scorching day in the Superstition Mountains, and at the launch of a historic space mission on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, Medley finds people with almost bottomless reserves of patience and perseverance. Captivating, funny, and full of curiosity and heart, Live to See the Day is ultimately an examination of hope and what it means to live a rewarding life.

Genres: Nonfiction

368 pages, Hardcover

Published January 6, 2026

Reviews

[Barry Hertz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kind of inspirational and head-in-the-clouds stories that will start your new year off perfectly. Deeply reported, superbly written, with the author managing to balance the intensity of these uber-committed daydreamers with the poetry of knowing such pursuits will amount to nothing during their lifetime. Reminds me of the now-immortal Andor quote: "I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see."

[Tasleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who has set seemingly impossible goals, who has wondered if there is any point to working toward something that won’t be accomplished in their lifetime, who has despaired about the future of humanity, or who has wondered about “men who plant trees under whose shade they will never sit” — this book is for you.

[Kristin Camburn Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this ARC. Each person’s story was very interesting and their attitudes about not being around to see the fruition of their work was inspiring. I enjoyed learning about the different paths their lives took.

[Lottie C · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

Just didn’t really click with this one