From The New York Times bestselling author of a Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing comes an update of John Steinbecks trip in Travels with Charley, a cross-country journey exploring modern America with Lauren Houghs signature observational wit, searing social commentary, and perspective as someone who knows what its like to truly exist on the margins in this country.

Lauren 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 possiblebeing a writer may not always pay better than being a bartender or a cable guy, but at least the schedules flexibleshe leaps at the chance, refurbishing a ramshackle 2001 Dodge van and setting off from Austin, Texas with her Husky mix Woody by her side.

Her influences feel obviousbut a lot has changed about the United States since the 1962 trip John Steinbeck chronicles in Travels with Charley. And Lauren Hough isnt John Steinbeckunless the Noble 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 chatsat gas stations and restaurants and auto shops and barswith 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.

Part 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 weve come as a country, and how far we still have to go.