Shuttling through the margins of the city, the proprietor of a coffee truck trades coffee for stories while curating a musical playlist to soothe his customers’ souls. Weaving together eighteen interconnected stories, author Wales Xie packs this musically-inspired collection with healing moments and hard-earned wisdom.

The short stories of The Coffee Truck Playlist share a common stage: a van converted into a coffee truck. Chang, the owner of this mobile café, is always on the move, providing the solace of coffee and good music to the weary at heart. There’s no need to pay with cash. Chang will accept just about anything in exchange: a story in need of telling, or a small object endowed with special meaning, like a seashell with a heartbreaking provenance.


The coffee truck is the lynchpin of the book, linking eighteen stories which might appear independent at first glance. Most of the characters who populate these stories carry the weight of regret: a young person preparing to retake college entrance exams after a lackluster first attempt, a worker laid-off after only just starting their career, the owner of a failing record store, and various people disappointed in love. They come to the coffee truck to trade their stories for a cup of java, but the telling offers them opportunity to reevaluate their setbacks.


Meanwhile, Chang is busy playing a soundtrack of classic songs that not only echoes the content of the stories, but also plays a role in healing his caffeinated clientele. As the customers talk, Chang selects a song that mirrors their state, giving them a sense of being deeply heard, sending them back into the world ready for reconciliation. The songs should be considered an essential component of the reading experience. Readers who listen to each track will be rewarded with a rich nostalgic ambience, and the opportunity to further savor the hard-won life experiences related in each story.


With its breezy warmth and tender touch, The Coffee Truck Playlist is a shelter from life’s storms, a mobile sanctuary for the dispirited, a place where good music and honest stories illuminate fractured lives, seeping in through the cracks to make them whole again.