North of Nowhere

Redemption can be hard to find in Ken Levine’s heartfelt debut novel, North Of Nowhere.

In a blue-collar Wisconsin town, Terrance struggles to find his place. Having learned to survive from his tough-as-nails mother after his alcoholic father abandoned the family, he nevertheless finds himself seeking oblivion in the arms of other women.

So when he meets Estelle, Terrance never imagines the relationship will actually go anywhere.

Escaping a loveless home and a mother whose needs always outweighed those of her daughter’s, Estelle hopes to find some sense of normalcy in the small factory town in which she now works.

She doesn't find it with Terrance, however, and she has no choice but to raise their son alone.

With her child in tow, Estelle returns to her hometown in an attempt to repair the ragged ties she still holds to her family. Meanwhile, Terrance experiences heartbreak for himself, which leads him into a desperate cycle of uncontrollable drug and alcohol use.

After Terrance hits rock bottom, he decides to embark on a journey of a lifetime in a desperate attempt to find Estelle and finally establish a connection with the son he’s never known.