by Louis C.K.
First published 2025
Ingram leaves his family's failing dirt farm with empty pockets and nowhere to go. Poverty and neglect have stripped away his childhood, leaving him to wander the harsh landscape of working-class Texas alone. He drifts through corn farms and oil fields, sleeping where he can and eating when he finds work. Diner waitresses offer him scraps. Migrant workers share their stories. Criminals teach him harder lessons about survival. The boy carries one simple dream: to own a truck someday. This hope pushes him forward through tornadoes and explosions, past thieves and violence that seem to follow him everywhere. The world treats him no better than a desert treats the animals struggling to live in it. But Ingram refuses to break. His curiosity keeps him moving. His humor helps him endure. As he travels deeper into this unforgiving country, Ingram starts to remember something terrible from his past. This forgotten tragedy explains why he sees himself and his family the way he does. Slowly, he learns to make his own choices instead of just reacting to whatever happens to him. The consequences aren't always what he expects.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, coming-of-age, 21st-century
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, resilience
Setting: Texas, Corn Farms, Oil Fields
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
288 pages · Hardcover · BenBella Books
Content warnings: violence