Ungoverned Spaces is a forensic deep dive into binders and shoeboxes of notes and Polaroids and scraps in search of clues to understand the why and the what for. Maybe Ben left a fragment of a hidden message in the dialogue between the boat captain and the stripper that was missed, or maybe codes were layered like harmonic overtones in the imagery, the cadence, or allusions. But beyond the very personal story of suicide and disability, this book also is the final snapshot of America the way it was before everything changed with an avalanche of smart phones, Y2K, Columbine, 9/11, hashtags, and Donald fucking Trump. It’s the story of Cornelius the Rastafarian gardener in the Virgin Islands calling down a hurricane to punish the whole world. It’s the story of Solomon the Dominican dishwasher; Lambo, the Baka pygmy guide in Central Africa protecting Nate from barking gorillas and a swarm of bees. It’s the story of a Russian goldminer in Eastern Turkey drinking late at night inside a shipping container underneath the stars; dancing with a militia leader at a mountainside wedding outside a mosque, gunshots firing into the sky in celebration. It’s the story of a doctor, a farmer, a Marine, and a thousand addicts and diplomats and sailors, seekers, and seers. It’s about a constellation of characters and personalities living in the world the way it was. It’s about the I Ching and moving forward while looking backward.

Represented by: Laura Strachan, Strachan Literary Agency