There’s perhaps no place quite so associated with the American imagination than California. The state has long been a beacon to seekers; whether gold or tech, hippie communes or Hollywood stardom, California has served as a symbol of the possible. Yet the state of hopes and dreams is also on fire, a ground zero for the climate crisis, a place equally famous for its homelessness as well as its prisons.
Stranger’s Guide: California offers a compelling portrait of the state and what it represents to its many different residents. You’ll accompany an aspiring writer as he attempts to rent a Hollywood apartment that might just have been home to Al Pacino; you will cheer at the sidelines of a J-League basketball game, where Japanese Americans have built community. You’ll listen to the Spanglish that flows through the streets of San Francisco’s queer Latin community and tour the Bay Area’s hidden trash heaps.
You’ll also witness the devastation wrought by wildfires across the state, and meet people across the state navigating life while experiencing homelessness. Travel up and down the Central Valley with seasonal farmworkers who have long provided food for much of the US. Discover what the California Dream means to activist Alicia Garza, writer Rahsaan “New York” Thomas and more.
At Stranger’s Guide, our mission is to provide nuanced portraits of place by the authors and photographers who call that place home. We explicitly seek locations often subjected to lazy cliches, with the hope we can turn stereotypes on their head. We know there’s never been a more critical time to encounter new perspectives and beliefs. That’s why we started Stranger’s Guide and why we’re so proud to offer this volume.
Thank you, as always, for joining us on this journey,
Kira Brunner Don and Abby Rapoport
Co-founders, Stranger’s Guide
Contributor
