Is America as divided as it seems? As a graduate student at Oxford, Ryan Bernsten undertook a 23,000-mile journey through all 50 states to look beyond the news cycles and see his home country from the ground. Following in the footsteps of Alexis de Tocqueville, Bernsten leads with the desire to listen and find common humanity in Americans he meets across the country. Bernsten ultimately offers a hopeful vision for the future of America, as he embarks on a search for meaning and reflects on what it means to be American. This book is a companion to the podcast 50 States of Mind which showcases interviews from the journey and is available on all podcast platforms.

Ryan Bernsten is a graduate of Northwestern University and Oxford's Creative Writing Master's program. He has written for The Oxford Political Review, USA Today, The Infatuation, and The Trevor Project, where he is the Senior Managing Editor. Ryan is an award-winning playwright whose plays have been performed across the US and UK.