Small in Real Lifeampnbspinvokes the myth and melancholy of Southern California glamor of starryeyed women and men striving for their own Hollywood shimmer and the seamy undersides and luxurious mystique of the Golden State Exiled to a Malibu rehab an alcoholic paparazzo spies on his celebrity friend for an online tabloid Down to her last dollar a Hollywood hangeron steals designer handbags from her dying friends bungalow Blinded by grief an LA judge atones after condescending to a failed actress on a date When hunger for power fame and love betrays the senses the characters in these nine stories must reckon with false choicesand their search for belonging with the wrong peopleampnbspSmall in Real Lifeampnbspoffers an insiders view of California and the golden promises of possibility and redemption that have long made the West glitter