ABOVE: Jackson native Courtney Kocak and her new book, Girl Gone Wild, which details her journey from a small midwestern town to Hollywood. Submitted photo.

JACKSON– Jackson native Courtney Kocak is sharing her experience of growing up in a small town, chasing aspirations in Hollywood and realizing the importance of your roots in her debut memoir, Girl Gone Wild, which comes out April 1 from Trio House Press.

Kocak now splits her time time between two big cities: Austin, Texas and Los Angeles, California, but she grew up in Jackson, Minn., a town of about 3,200. After graduating from Jackson County Central, Kocak knew she wanted to head out of town for somewhere bigger.

“I was always going to be an actress. It was the driving force of my life and I chased that dream as hard as I could,” Kocak said. “I was always doing school plays and community theater.”

She ended up getting her BFA in acting from Stephens College in Missouri, which operates the Okoboji Summer Theatre in Iowa.

“I was in a big rush to get my career started so I graduated early,” Kocak said.

She performed at Okoboji Summer Theatre for a year and did a couple of independent films before she headed to L.A.

The first time she got there, she was 21 years old, though she admitted it was hard to get started.

“The idea people have about how the entertainment industry works and how it is perpetuated in media is not accurate,” she said.

Kocak ended up returning to Missouri, and then the Twin Cities area for awhile to regroup and returned to L.A. at 23 with a better understanding.

“I figured out that what I hate about acting is that you’re the last person brought on to the project which is very frustrating. I started writing at 27 as a means to create opportunities for myself and then I realized that this is the even bigger passion that I didn’t know existed,” Kocak said.

She began screenwriting and writing essays. She has since had original essays published in some major publications including The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and the Los Angeles Times.

“I also started podcasting soon after my pivot to writing, pretty early on in the podcasting days,” Kocak said.

She is the host of two podcasts which are put out regularly and said that while podcasting is something she discovered by accident, it’s been a big part of her career.

The book, however, has been a recent major focus of Kocak’s.

“It had been a dream for about 15 years but I started wiring it in 2020 in earnest. I had the solid bones of the book in 2023 and I’ve been revising and trying to find a publisher since,” Kocak said.

She got the book deal about a year ago and noted that it’s unusual to have the book come out only a year later.

A memoir, her book details her journey from a small midwestern town to Hollywood and includes ‘an uncomfortable chapter selling T-shirts on the Girls Gone Wild tour,’ before Kocak ultimately found her feminism and true passion.

“At its heart, it’s also a love letter to where I come from, especially my grandma’s, and the way home stays with you even after you leave,” Kocak said.

She said she has been coming back home ever since she left and that she realized something when her grandma Betty Kocak passed away in 2016.

“People don’t last forever and I need to come back more frequently. I come back a few times a year. My parents are retired teachers in Jackson. I have some extended family in the area, including my aunt Cathy (Shell) in Fairmont,” Kocak said.

Speaking to what she now appreciates about a small town, Kocak said, “writing the book has clarified for me that, I was always dreaming about how I was going to leave, but I think some aspects of Jackson and southwest Minnesota will never leave me.”

She referenced a recent fatal motor vehicle accident that took the lives of some Jackson residents and said, “when I see the way that the town rallies around people that are going through something… that’s really incredible to see people take care of each other like that.”

Right now, Kocak is planning the details of a book tour which will likely include a stop in the Twin Cities. While she’s excited for what’s immediately ahead of her, she’s also already looking forward to book number two.

“The joy of writing a book happens in the quiet part. I have another memoir in progress… it’s about half done. I’m very excited for later in the summer and into the fall when I’m able to dig into that,” Kocak said.

As for advice she would give to those looking to pursue an interest or goal of theirs, Kocak pointed out that advancements and technology have made a lot possible and said that people wouldn’t even need to head to the coast to make something happen.

“If you’re in Fairmont right now, you can start making videos, you can start a podcast, you can start writing from literally anywhere. If you’re a dreamer you have a lot of tools at your disposal to get started,” Kodak said.

Information on Kocak and her new book can be found on her website at courtneykocak.com.