Vodka Shot, Pickle Chaser: A True Story of Risk, Corruption, and Self-Discovery Amid the Collapse of the Soviet Union

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'état 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.