American Alt: A True Story of Madness and Friendship in a Fractured Country

A glimpse into the mind of an American conspiracy theorist, the schizophrenia, trauma, and misinformation that drove him to the brink, and the friendship that brought him back.

"A mesmerizing, compassionate, and deeply meaningful exploration of a perilous corridor of American life." - Robert Kolker, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Hidden Valley Road

Named a Best Summer Read by The Los Angeles Times and Alta Journal

On the eve of January 6, 2021, Michael Dodd and his three friends found themselves in a stolen vehicle on the grounds of the Washington State Capitol, armed to the teeth, and ready to kidnap Governor Jay Inslee. Only there weren't actually three others in the car-Michael was alone. Months later, the violent plan thwarted, Michael sat in a psychiatric hospital and learned that he was struggling with undiagnosed schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder. His knowledge of that fateful day was spotty, fractured by the different personality states he now knew were affecting his reality. Skeptical of a state mental health system, but anxious to find out how his world turned upside down, he reached out to a longtime friend, the author Chris Lockhart, for help.

American Alt is the odyssey of two friends trying to piece together the fragments of Michael's shattered memory and uncover the truth of what pushed him to the edge. Set against the beautiful but economically fractured Pacific Northwest where both men rambled in their youth, Lockhart delivers a suspenseful, profoundly moving story of discovery and affirmation.

Author: Chris Lockhart
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 07/07/2026
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.20w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9781639735785


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 05/01/2026 pg. 122
Publishers Weekly 05/04/2026
Booklist 06/01/2026

About the Author
Chris Lockhart has a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology from the University of California San Francisco and Berkeley and is the coauthor of Tupa Tjipombo's memoir, I Am Not Your Slave. He is the co-author with Daniel Mulilo Chama of Walking the Bowl: A True Story of Murderand Survival Among the Street Children of Lusaka, a New York Times notable book and NPR Best of the Year. He grew up in the South Puget Sound Region of Western Washington and continues to live part time there.