He. Sees. All. From a remote desert, to a small high school to a mystical shanty town somewhere in the American south, Essen’s poetic and often surreal page turner of a debut anthology will enchant and haunt you. Essen’s literary debut combines short stories, brief poetry and three novellas: One follows a trouble young man as he wanders into a mystical desert to be alone. Another follows a group of friends in their senior year of high school as a mysterious transfer student leads them towards an ever more exciting, and dangerous, lifestyle. The final story follows June, a twelve year old girl, caught in the middle between her divorcing parents. One a devout Catholic, the other a highly regarded shaman-for-hire. This surreal collection blends gritty realism and imaginative magic to weave a sometimes funny, sometimes dark, deeply personal exploration of finding one’s place in the world.