As America Turns 250, a 33,321-mile road trip reveals the nation’s story in ‘Heartland Highways: In Search of America'

What better way to celebrate before America's 250th birthday than with a genuine, entertaining, soul-searching road trip across the actual country?

DALLAS, TX, UNITED STATES, October 28, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Award-winning broadcaster and author John W. Butler announces the release of HEARTLAND HIGHWAYS: In Search of America, a 33,321-mile road odyssey that takes readers beyond the headlines to rediscover the American spirit — just in time for the nation’s 250th birthday.

Part road trip narrative, part cultural commentary, Butler’s journey winds through mountains and forests, diners and truck stops, big cities and forgotten towns — redefining the “Heartland” as every place and person who still believes in the idea of America.

“Traveling across this whopping country at eye level for over 33,000 miles changed me,” Butler said. “I wasn’t a tourist — I called myself a ‘detourist,’ taking the back roads to find the stories behind the people and places often ignored.”

In a moment when many Americans are asking who we are and what we still have in common, Butler says the nation’s story is not found in the clickbait on our phone screens or political rants. “The answers weren’t in the news cycle,” he added. “They were in the man in Texas who said, ‘This land teaches patience.’ The waitress in Montana who reminded me, ‘People are kinder than the internet says.’ In the forest in Maine that answered with a silence so heavy it felt holy.”

'HEARTLAND HIGHWAYS: In Search of America' is a love letter to curiosity — a true celebration of authentic encounters that reveal a country that is messy, flawed, beautiful, surprising, and still worth believing in.

Readers will travel from the South Dakota plains — where he meets Jadwiga, who continues the work her sculptor father began on the Crazy Horse Memorial — to coastal towns, desert highways, and countless unscripted moments of humor and humanity.

If you’re seeking perfect Instagram pictures or travel tips, this isn’t that book. But if you want to trade "screens for scenes," Butler invites you to take the long way home.

EARLY PRAISE FROM REVIEWERS & MEDIA:
“All the ingredients of a classic road narrative: humor, grit, cultural soul.” — C.S., Reviewer

“Hugely touching and insightful… I’ll reflect on his story for quite some time.” — A.S., NetGalley Reviewer

“We need a book like this right now… Everybody needs to pick up HEARTLAND HIGHWAYS: In Search of America.” — The Rick Tittle Show (San Francisco & syndicated on 200+ stations)

“Lets readers see America through the eyes of a true ‘detourist’ — one who embraces the unexpected and finds beauty in the unplanned.” — Canton Herald

About the Author:
John W. Butler is an award-winning broadcast journalist, podcaster, speaker, and author. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Southern Methodist University, he has spent decades telling human-centered stories through radio and print. Butler serves on the board of the Texas Association of Broadcasters and is a former president of the Golden Mic Club, with stations that have earned multiple statewide excellence awards.

Butler will speak to inner-city schools and appear on radio, television, podcasts, and at live events to encourage Americans to rediscover their country firsthand. His mission: “Take a detour. Find a story. Fall back in love with the place you call home.”

AVAILABILITY:
HEARTLAND HIGHWAYS: In Search of America is available now in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Independent Bookstores
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK1C9ZTK
Press kit and NetGalley copy upon request.

John W. Butler
Story Road Press
+1 214-957-1776
john@JohnButlersBuzz.com
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Book Trailer - Heartland Highways: In Search of America by John W. Butler

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