"Part travelogue . . . part meditation on the meaning of home" (Wall Street Journal), Braving Home introduces readers to some of modern America's most unusual, unforgettable pioneers. The cub reporter Jake Halpern -- dubbed the Bad Homes Correspondent by his colleagues -- sets out on a journey to some of the most unforgiving locales in America. He wanted to understand the people who live there -- and more importantly why they refuse to leave. What results is an irresistible portrait of outlandish places and their most loyal residents. Meet a firefighting hillbilly in Malibu; a video store clerk who lives in a snowbound high-rise in Alaska; a hermit whose house in Hawaii, formerly an inn, is entirely surrounded by molten lava.Written in an infectious style and with "swashbuckling spirit" (Christian Science Monitor), Braving Home is an affectionate and affecting tale of rootedness in America.