''Jesus' Son meets Reservoir Dogs in a breakneck-paced debut novel about love; war; bank robberies; and heroin. Cleveland; 2003. A young man is just a college freshman when he meets Emily. They share a passion for Edward Albee and ecstasy and fall hard and fast in love. But soon Emily has to move home to Elba; New York; and he flunks out of school and joins the army. Desperate to keep their relationship alive; they marry before he ships out to Iraq. But as an army medic; he is unprepared for the grisly reality that awaits him. His fellow soldiers smoke; they huff computer duster; they take painkillers; they watch porn. And many of them die. He and Emily try to make their long-distance marriage work; but when he returns from Iraq; his PTSD is profound; and the drugs on the street have changed. The opioid crisis is beginning to swallow up the Midwest. Soon he is hooked on heroin; and so is Emily. They attempt a normal life; but with their money drying up; he turns to the one thing he thinks he could be really good at--robbing banks. Hammered out on a typewriter; Cherry marks the arrival of a raw; bleakly hilarious; and surprisingly poignant voice straight from the dark heart of America''- Cleveland; 2003. A young man is just a college freshman when he meets Emily. They share a passion for Edward Albee and Ecstasy and fall hard and fast in love. But soon Emily has to move home to Elba; New York and he flunks out of school and joins the Army. Desperate to keep their relationship alive; they marry before he ships out to Iraq. But as an Army medic; he is unprepared for the grisly reality that awaits him. His fellow soldiers smoke; they huff computer duster; they take painkillers; they watch porn. And many of them die. He and Emily try to make their long-distance marriage work; but when he returns from Iraq; his PTSD is profound; and the drugs on the street have changed. The opioid crisis is beginning to swallow up the Midwest. Soon he is hooked on heroin; and so is Emily. They attempt a normal life; but with their money drying up; he turns to the one thing he thinks he could be really good at--robbing banks. Hammered out on a typewriter; Cherry marks the arrival of a raw; bleakly hilarious; and surprisingly poignant voice straight from the dark heart of America.