Monster of a Land: On the Road in Search of Modern America

From The New York Times bestselling author of Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing comes an update of John Steinbeck's trip in Travels with Charley, a cross-country journey exploring modern America with Lauren Hough's signature observational wit, searing social commentary, and perspective as someone who knows what it's like to truly exist on the margins in this country.

"Monster of a Land is so much more than a road trip book--it's about the trips we never take, the people we lose before we get the chance, and what happens when you finally get in the goddamn car." --Jennette McCurdy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Half His Age and I'm Glad My Mom Died

Lauren Hough has always been haunted by the road trips she never got to take: no money, no vacation days, no car capable of making the trip. So, upon finally finding herself in a situation where such a trip might be possible--being a writer may not always pay better than being a bartender or a cable guy, but at least the schedule's flexible--she leaps at the chance, refurbishing a ramshackle 2001 Dodge van and setting off from Austin, Texas with her Husky mix Woody by her side.

Her influences feel obvious--but a lot has changed about the United States since the 1962 trip John Steinbeck chronicles in Travels with Charley. And Lauren Hough isn't John Steinbeck--unless the Noble Prize-winning author of The Grapes of Wrath had a secret past as a six-foot-tall lesbian and Air Force vet. But even better as a social lubricant than beer, a dog is the ultimate conversation starter. With Woody as wingman, Lauren chats--at gas stations and restaurants and auto shops and bars--with an incredible cross-section of Americans from all walks of life and every possible political perspective. And as she circumnavigates the country, she documents, with all-too-rare empathy, what it means to be poor, to be marginalized, and to be seen as Other in America.

Part travelogue, part social commentary, and 100% Lauren Hough, Monster of a Land unites her poignant vulnerability, her hilarious narrative voice, and her razor-sharp insights into a journey that will show us how far we've come as a country, and how far we still have to go.

Author: Lauren Hough
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Published: 06/16/2026
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.52h x 6.47w x 1.16d
ISBN: 9780593686621


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 04/01/2026 pg. 81
Booklist 05/01/2026
Publishers Weekly 05/04/2026
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2026

About the Author
LAUREN HOUGH was born in Germany and raised in seven countries, and West Texas. She's been an Air Force airman, a bartender, a bouncer, a construction laborer, a driver, a green-aproned barista, and a cable guy. She's the author of the New York Times bestselling essay collection, Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Granta, Texas Highways, Huffpost, and The Guardian. She's a writer at large for Texas Highways. She lives in Austin with a dog named Woody Guthrie.