What it feels like: To

Along the same lines:
Extreme Encounters by Greg Emmanuel
How It Feels to Be
Drowned in Quicksand,
Shredded by Piranhas,
Swept Up in a Tornado,
and Dozens of Other Unpleasant Experiences...

And he actually tells what it feels like, or are they just second-hand stories?

I have flipped through the former. Not particularly riveting. New chapter: "What It Feels Like To Be Underwhelmed".

I read memoirs in one way or the other all the time. Mostly I gain from them, however well written they are. I am always a little wary about compilations promoted in a sensationalist way, and that isn't good for the possible unusual person quoted in one of those who is genuine.