Once Upon a Time in Sacramento

By Mark R. Samra

Once Upon a Time in Sacramento follows Aldo Williams and his three childhood friends (Max, Sean, Erv) as they navigate loyalty, loss, and survival in a city that rarely makes headlines but shapes lives all the same. Set against the backdrop of Sacramento, California in the early 2010s-an era of iPhones, dating apps, pickup basketball, and backroad parties-the story captures the slow, invisible but seismic shift from youth to adulthood.

As the years wear on, dreams are tested, bonds are strained, and a single weekend in 2016 forces Aldo, Sean, Max, and Erv to confront the people they've become-and the city that raised them.

Rooted in nostalgia, mental health, and the determination for something more, Once Upon a Time in Sacramento blends slice-of-life realism with flashes of myth, drawing inspiration from films like Mid90s, Boyz n the Hood, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. A story about friendship, survival, and the defining moments that hit hardest when you least expect them-leading to a night that will test everything they know about themselves, and ultimately reveal how strong their brotherhood truly is.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0D929SR7L
• ISBN13: 9798332546044
• Release Date: July 2024
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"