Baron describes his return to Aspen, Colorado just prior to the pandemic, and his subsequent recovery from a series of life altering health events and losses that left him near death. In unrelenting pain and emotionally and physically exhausted, he describes a tenacious will to not only survive but to thrive, succeeding in a world of boutique medicine, world class surgeons, pain specialists, physical therapists, and Olympic athletes. The spectacular alpine wilderness near his home became a sanctuary where under cerulean blue skies and in frigid whiteout snow storms he found solace and strength on cold water swims, day long hikes, skiing, and horseback riding. And in a valley soon to rise even higher on the list of the world’s most expensive zip codes, he found genuine community, friendship, and rebirth. A manual on resilience, navigating loss, and holding on to hope when there seems to be none, Baron has written a treatise on surviving tragedy and crafting a mid-life renaissance and a life of meaning, purpose, and joy.
In this expansive look at a post-9/11 America, Baron combines photos and words from his multi-year circumnavigation and interviews with hundreds of Americans along his route and those he met while embedded in cities across the country. As a former investigative journalist and political reporter, he undertook what would become a year’s long, De Tocqueville-esque examination of the country, during which he saw the forces that created the world in which we live and the complex challenges and unlimited opportunities that reside at the edges of our polarized society. Baron paints a compelling and sobering portrait of a divided country.
"Perhaps we need another Steinbeck. A lot of Americans are hurting." - 4th generation Montana Rancher