{"product_id":"monster-of-a-land-csaitm366149","title":"Monster of a Land","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom The New York Times bestselling author of Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing comes an update of John Steinbeckâ€™s trip in Travels with Charley, a cross-country journey exploring modern America with Lauren Houghâ€™s signature observational wit, searing social commentary, and perspective as someone who knows what itâ€™s like to truly exist on the margins in this country.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Monster of a Land is so much more than a road trip bookâ€”itâ€™s about the trips we never take, the people we lose before we get the chance, and what happens when you finally get in the goddamn car.â€� â€”Jennette McCurdy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Half His Age and Iâ€™m Glad My Mom Died\u003cbr\u003e\nLauren Hough has always been haunted by the road trips she never got to take: no money, no vacation days, no car capable of making the trip. So, upon finally finding herself in a situation where such a trip might be possibleâ€”being a writer may not always pay better than being a bartender or a cable guy, but at least the scheduleâ€™s flexibleâ€”she leaps at the chance, refurbishing a ramshackle 2001 Dodge van and setting off from Austin, Texas with her Husky mix Woody by her side.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer influences feel obviousâ€”but a lot has changed about the United States since the 1962 trip John Steinbeck chronicles in Travels with Charley. And Lauren Hough isnâ€™t John Steinbeckâ€”unless the Nobel Prize-winning author of The Grapes of Wrath had a secret past as a six-foot-tall lesbian and Air Force vet. But even better as a social lubricant than beer, a dog is the ultimate conversation starter. With Woody as wingman, Lauren chatsâ€”at gas stations and restaurants and auto shops and barsâ€”with an incredible cross-section of Americans from all walks of life and every possible political perspective. And as she circumnavigates the country, she documents, with all-too-rare empathy, what it means to be poor, to be marginalized, and to be seen as Other in America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart travelogue, part social commentary, and 100% Lauren Hough, Monster of a Land unites her poignant vulnerability, her hilarious narrative voice, and her razor-sharp insights into a journey that will show us how far weâ€™ve come as a country, and how far we still have to go.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PANTHEON BOOKS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47014223413436,"sku":"CSAITM366149","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0661\/1025\/9388\/files\/1564548.jpg?v=1782831907","url":"https:\/\/dreamersbmore.com\/products\/monster-of-a-land-csaitm366149","provider":"Dreamers \u0026 Make-Believers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}