Holy Misery tells the tale, through Cross’ words and photographs, of a cocaine and sex-fueled descent into darkness paranoia, and insatiable hungers during the 80s in Santa Fe and Los Angeles. It is a tale of a time when idealism had evaporated, greed had spread through the cites, and compassion was in short supply. This novel simultaneously repels and attracts the reader, as it draws us in—page after page—in a fever pitch of a human thirst for meaning, satisfaction, and redemption. Through Cross' narrative and an abundance of often grainy and seedy images, Holy Misery has its own unique pitch and is reminiscent of works of Bukowski, Kerouac, Burroughs, and Hunter Thompson. Cross has created an original narrative that draws the reader into a strange, foreign, yet familiar world.

Guy Cross was born in Brooklyn back in the 1930s and worked as a fashion photographer in the 70s in New York and London. He followed his artist mother, Doris Cross, to Santa Fe in 1978 and with Michael Motley started and published The Picture Paper. During the 80s, Cross spiraled into a personal exploration of dark passions fueled by sex, drugs, fear, and paranoia. After brief stints in Texas and California, he returned to Santa Fe in 1992. At that time, Santa Fe was at a turning point in the art world, and Cross thrust himself into a new passion—THE magazine—which was a key ingredient in the mix that fueled Santa Fe’s transformation from a regional art center to an important international art capital.