{"product_id":"drowning-tucson-9781566892407","title":"Drowning Tucson","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Morales wrestles with nothing less than the parameters of the human soul.\"--Luis Alberto Urrea\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet in Tucson's toughest neighborhoods during the late 1980s, this explosive debut follows the disintegration of the Nu ez family and the people whose paths they cross. From crooked cops to prostitutes plying their trade along the \"Miracle Mile,\" each person's destiny is linked by crushing poverty, the brutal codes of the street, and the harsh nature of the desert. In this place of drought and flood, \"civilization\" is every bit as dangerous as its surroundings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFast-paced and unrelenting, each chapter draws the reader in with the first line and doesn't let go until the heartrending finale. Like a southwest version of HBO's \u003ci\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/i\u003e, this riveting novel is an episodic portrait of a desperate, violent America, populated by characters as lethal as they are sympathetic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGenuinely relevant and never gratuitous, Morales writes about the side of humanity that society fears and ignores. Without judgment, he portrays the lives of young gangbangers, despondent mothers, gay teenage runaways, corrupt preachers, twisted pedophiles, murderous vigilantes, and broken families--all just trying to get by.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn in 1976, \u003cb\u003eAaron Michael Morales\u003c\/b\u003e grew up in Tucson. At age ten, he became a paperboy for the \u003ci\u003eArizona Daily Star \u003c\/i\u003eand since then his jobs have ranged from working in a car parts factory to bartending in Chicago's Oak Park neighborhood. He currently teaches writing and literature at Indiana State University and is working on his second novel. Visit him online at www.aaronmichaelmorales.com.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Coffee House Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/01\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781566892407\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 310\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.92h x 6.58w x 0.88d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/15\/2010 pg. 38\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/15\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2010 pg. 25\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2010\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Aaron Michael Morales","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42370593587381,"sku":"9781566892407","price":13.56,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_d6f363ea-ed95-4b94-8454-128e3f9957cd.jpg?v=1663040691","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/drowning-tucson-9781566892407","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}