(L: Jordan O’Donnell embarked on a book tour in a converted school bus, R: Jordan O’Donnell | Photos courtesy of Jordan O’Donnell)
When Jordan O’Donnell, 27, joined the FBI in 2016, he hoped to dedicate his life to the Bureau. But after three frustrating years, he quit to write a richly dark novel about his experiences and America’s current cultural and political divide. He converted a school bus, bought two travel trailers, hired 19 interns from around the nation and embarked on an unprecedented book tour, socially distancing and navigating the dangers of COVID-19.
O’Donnell’s team is composed of his manager and an eclectic group of videographers, publicists, social media experts and artists from all walks of life. Throughout the tour, the team will conduct a podcast to hear citizen’s viewpoints, shoot a travel adventure documentary and spread the word about O’Donnell’s novel, Zoon Garden: The Decline of a Nation, in hopes of bringing unity and understanding amidst divisive and polarized times.
A tour of this magnitude and nature has never been conducted. It is grass roots, spontaneous and seeks to spread a timely and relevant message of unity while much of the country appears to be widening the rift of division. O’Donnell will be in the Bend area from July 31-August 2.