Job Mercer has lived a life few would envy. After enduring the ravages of war in Vietnam, he made his way home to a better life. He had weathered quite a few hardships by the time I found him. Job had spent some time in prison and found just as much grief outside as he did inside. Somehow, through it all, he survived, but it has not been easy. With nothing left to lose, Job makes a bold move, vowing to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in search of something more. If he is lucky, he'll find what he is looking for out there. If he fails, he'll carry on just like he always has, even if it breaks him.

LEAVING CALIFORNIA compiles 76 poems that merge the line of harsh reality and paranoia, beauty and reflection, and the wisdom of the escape artist. There are amends and curses amongst stories that one can only tell once they've seen everything and everything collapse. A brilliant work of true transformation, these poems also chronicle Lanegan's exit from California for the literal greener pastures of Ireland. As someone who has survived it all, he must have known this move was the next level of perseverance. There's a pacing anxiety leading up to the move, turbulence in the transition, and a calm consideration once he's settled. In many ways this is part two of Lanegan's best selling 2020 novel, Sing Backwards and Weep, where loose ends are tied and others left for dead. Intro by Wesley Eisold. Poetry.