Asked & Answered: Law student Jacob Gardner publishes debut novel.

• Date: 31 May 2022
• Author: Tuten, Kassandra

Byline: Bridgetower Media Newswires

By Kassandra Tuten

University of Wisconsin Law School

For lifelong Wisconsinite and second-year law student Jacob Gardner, formative childhood experiences in Northern Wisconsin as a self-described "poor rural kid" served as inspiration for his debut novel, North of Highway 8.

The novel features protagonist Matt Harris's return to his small hometown, where a once robust blue-collar economy has declined. Buildings are boarded up, schools are under-resourced, and poverty has increased.North of Highway 8explores the plight of rural America, man's inherent connection with nature, and the importance of tolerance, friendship, and ethics.

"This book grapples with questions like how far will you go for your pride or your career, and what does it really mean to love your home," said Gardner. "I explore the tension between people's prosperity and the Earth's welfare."

Loosely inspired by the real events in Wisconsinsuch as the Foxconn dealthe novel allows readers to "truly reflect on how to best 'save' small town America, and it proposes extra tolerance as the way to bridge the rural-urban divide," he said.

Accolades are already coming in for the novel, including two awards from the Speak Up Talk Radio Firebird Awards: third prize for...