In razor-sharp prose, Reflections from the Shadow of Los Angeles captures the unique mix of orange groves and ocean beaches, Disneyland and drugs, freeways and false landmarks that defined the Golden State in the 1960s and '70s. Along the way to growing older and (somewhat) wiser, the author encounters the joys of first love and homemade explosives, the refuge of treetops and underground forts, and the small notes of happiness that music can bring. But there is hidden trauma in this paradise - family secrets that can't stay buried forever.

By turns humorous and devastating, Byron's journey leads him to the realization that truth and beauty are not things to be sought "out there," but instead emerge from our own grappling with confusion, love, and heartache. Set within the backdrop of California culture that continues to fascinate so much of the world today, Reflections is at once a very particular portrait of a time and place and a potent depiction of the universal quest for reconciliation and redemption.