My buddy from high school,
Colby Buzzell, wrote a really great book called
Lost in America. It's Colby at his best, bumping around from town to town and painting a realistic view of everyday America. Colby struggles with his mother's death as he hits the road to Salt Lake City, Cheyenne and Detroit. I found the Detroit section the most interesting and moving.
For those that don't know, Colby wrote a terrific piece for
Esquire on Banksy before Banksy was world famous. I also really loved his story in the
SF Chronicle called Return to Sender.