{"product_id":"american-alt-a-true-story-of-madness-and-friendship-in-a-fractured-country","title":"American Alt: A True Story of Madness and Friendship in a Fractured Country","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Lockhart explores themes of mental illness, conspiracy theories and trauma with intelligence and compassion, and his writing is first-rate. This is a sometimes-chilling book, but - in this particularly fraught moment in American history - an absolutely vital one.\" --Michael Schaub, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times, \"Best of the Summer 2026\"\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Extraordinary . . . Most potently, the book is a moving portrait of rekindled camaraderie based on mutual empathy. It's an exceptional exploration of mental illness and friendship in the wreckage of American decline.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly, Starred Review\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[Michael] Dodd found the perfect chronicler of his story in his friend [Chris] Lockhart. \n\u003ci\u003eAmerican Alt\u003c\/i\u003e indelibly explores Lockhart and Dodd's attempts to unravel the missing pieces in Dodd's brilliant but disordered mind, an often heart-rending journey with significant revelations for both men. This is an unforgettable and stirring read for our fractured times.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Chris Lockhart's \n\u003ci\u003e American Alt\u003c\/i\u003e is a mesmerizing, compassionate, and deeply meaningful exploration of a perilous corridor of American life. By recounting the story of a friend whose mental illness brought him to the brink of conspiracy-fueled violence, Lockhart discovers hidden truths in his own story-and in the way many of us live now.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003eRobert Kolker, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A triumph of character and place, \n\u003ci\u003eAmerican Alt\u003c\/i\u003e goes where few books dare: deep into the fractured psyche of the American west. It's a bold, unflinching study of individual, collective, and environmental trauma written with the page-turning lucidity of a thriller.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003eMaxim Loskutoff, author of OLD KING and COME WEST AND SEE\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eChris Lockhart \u003c\/b\u003ehas a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology from the University of California San Francisco and Berkeley and is the coauthor of Tupa Tjipombo's memoir, \n\u003ci\u003eI Am Not Your Slave. \u003c\/i\u003eHe is the co-author with Daniel \n\u003ci\u003eMulilo Chama of Walking the Bowl: A True Story of Murder\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eand Survival Among the Street Children of Lusak\u003c\/i\u003ea, a \n\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e notable book and NPR Best of the Year. He grew up in the South Puget Sound Region of Western Washington and continues to live part time there.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA glimpse into the mind of an American conspiracy theorist, the schizophrenia, trauma, and misinformation that drove him to the brink, and the friendship that brought him back.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A mesmerizing, compassionate, and deeply meaningful exploration of a perilous corridor of American life.\" - Robert Kolker, author of the #1\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eHidden Valley Road\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNamed a Best Summer Read by \u003ci\u003eThe Los Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOn the eve of January 6, 2021, Michael Dodd and his three friends found themselves in a stolen vehicle on the grounds of the Washington State Capitol, armed to the teeth, and ready to kidnap Governor Jay Inslee. Only there weren't actually three others in the car-Michael was alone. Months later, the violent plan thwarted, Michael sat in a psychiatric hospital and learned that he was struggling with undiagnosed schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder. His knowledge of that fateful day was spotty, fractured by the different personality states he now knew were affecting his reality. Skeptical of a state mental health system, but anxious to find out how his world turned upside down, he reached out to a longtime friend, the author Chris Lockhart, for help. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eAmerican Alt \u003c\/i\u003eis the odyssey of two friends trying to piece together the fragments of Michael's shattered memory and uncover the truth of what pushed him to the edge. Set against the beautiful but economically fractured Pacific Northwest where both men rambled in their youth, Lockhart delivers a suspenseful, profoundly moving story of discovery and affirmation. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/01\/2026 pg. 122 (EAN 9781639735785, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/04\/2026 (EAN 9781639735785, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781639735785, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496248213782,"sku":"9781639735785","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781639735785.jpg?v=1783058181","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/american-alt-a-true-story-of-madness-and-friendship-in-a-fractured-country","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}