What happens when you take a musician with a quest to find the meaning of life, the herculean task of trying to save the world, and insatiable wanderlust? Throw in a liberal dose of drugs, sex, and rock and roll and what results is Traveling High and Tripping Hard by Joseph Davida, a new book set for release in January. The story of one young man’s quest to find meaning through a series of altered states and high adventures, Traveling High and Tripping Hard is highly unusual, highly unorthodox, and highly entertaining. Davida, a recovering—or perhaps, reformed—rock musician is hardly what you’d call an everyman: after accidentally ingesting a large dose of PCP at eight years old, David had an apocalyptic vision that altered the course of his life forever. Tasked with the monumental mission of saving the world, Davida launched a course of self-discovery that led him both inward and outward. From exploring the jungles of Central America, the pyramids of Egypt, Buddhist and Hindu temples of Kathmandu, Davida never wavered in his mission, even when faced with real hardships, doubt, and despair. Davida bares it all in Traveling High and Tripping Hard. A memoir like no other, Traveling High and Tripping Hard serves up a grand reminder that the truth is always stranger than fiction. Resplendent with laugh-out-loud moments, awe-inspiring travel tales, and staggering stories certain to induce slackjawed disbelief, Traveling High and Tripping Hard is a bold, balls-out, bodacious book. But what shines through in this buoyant memoir is despite Davida’s unusual backstory, the concepts, questions, qualms and quandaries he faces are real, relatable and universal. While some may find his methods for discovery outrageous, few of us can deny that at a certain point, we've asked the same questions. And while most of us will never pursue such a rigorous quest with quite the same vigor, ultimately Davida's journey is one that we're all on together. At its heart a story that probes such universal themes as loss, sense of place, purpose, belonging, Traveling High and Tripping Hard covers the highs, lows and all points in between. An engaging, self-aware and often self-deprecating narrator, Joseph Davida provides a glimpse into those strange places that lie somewhere between the darkness and light, hope and despair, and spirituality and madness. A consummate storyteller with a keen eye for detail and unmistakable appreciation of the absurd, the sublime and the downright inexplicable, Davida delivers a confident and un-put-downable debut. Part adventure narrative, part memoir, part spiritual tale, Traveling High and Tripping Hard takes readers on one hell of a trip.