Vodka Shot, Pickle Chaser

FOR DAVID, graduating from college was a matter of course,
but figuring out what to do next with his life turns into a
paralyzing decision. Always pressured to be a high-achiever,
he can do anything-but from corporate conformity to graduate
school confinement, no choice feels right.

On a whim, he decides to travel to the Soviet Union. His loose
plans call for a thirty-day tour of Leningrad, but after finding
himself caught up in the middle of a coup d'tat attempt that
destabilizes the country, he ends up staying abroad for two
and a half tumultuous years.

From surviving perilous run-ins with the Russian mafia
and the Soviet military, to searching for his lost heritage in
a remote village, David's story is a captivating coming-of-age
memoir. He finds that the road less traveled can lead to
unexpected adventure, and that looking backward sometimes
provides the best insight into how to move forward.