The soft exile

with the publication of his debut novel, the soft exile, writer/musician eric kiefer ended a five-year, 12,000 mile exodus."word for word, it's not exactly what happened to me out there," kiefer said of the soft exile. "but it's about as close as you can get without becoming a confession. it's a novel for the expatriates within us all."the fictional memoir draws heavily from his experience as a peace corps volunteer in the gobi desert region of mongolia. during this time, kiefer gathered the raw material and life experiences that would later become the soft exile.the book chronicles an idealistic, young american's decision to join the peace corps after an aborted suicide attempt. he spends two years as a volunteer in the fabled lands of the mongolian desert-steppe, searching for redemption and an alternative to modern american life. along the way, he teaches english in a public school, constructs a low-powered radio station and tries his best to assimilate to his new world, all the while lusting for an answer to a question that will either doom or save everything: "what is a good deed worth?"