Lost in Summerland: Essays (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781640094185)

Barrett Swanson embarks on a personal quest across the United States to uncover what it means to be an American amid the swirl of our post-truth climate in this collection of critically acclaimed essays and reportage.

A trip with his brother to a New York psychic community becomes a rollicking tour through the world of American spiritualism. At a wilderness retreat in Ohio, men seek a cure for toxic masculinity, while in the hinterlands of Wisconsin, antiwar veterans turn to farming when they cannot sustain the heroic myth of service. And when his best friend's body washes up on the shores of the Mississippi River, he falls into the gullet of true crime discussion boards, exploring the stamina of conspiracy theories along the cankered byways of the Midwest.

In this exhilarating debut, Barrett Swanson introduces us to a new reality. At a moment when grand unifying narratives have splintered into competing storylines, these critically acclaimed essays document the many routes by which people are struggling to find stability in the aftermath of our country's political and economic collapse, sometimes at dire and disillusioning costs.

Author: Barrett Swanson
ISBN-10: 1640094180
ISBN-13: 9781640094185
Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
Language: English
Published: 05/18/2021
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/15/2021
Library Journal 03/12/2021 pg. 1
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2021
Booklist 04/01/2021 pg. 8
Shelf Awareness 05/21/2021