From Amazon:

This is the endearing story of a Montana man's reflections of growing up during a tumultuous, yet enlightening, time in history when life was slower, the landscape was environmentally protected, neighbors more supportive, and a boy's imagination could flourish. Doig describes in detail his mother and father's devotion for him and each other, and paints vivid portraits of a tightly knit family living in a rugged terrain and struggling for survival. After his mother's death, times got tougher, and Doig's portrayal of his dad's difficulties are touching. Poetic interludes are charming and contrast interestingly with Doig's portrayal of a wild and rugged Montana and its curious inhabitants.

Ivan Doig was a writer from Montana who died last year at the age of 75 of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, from which he'd suffered for eight years. I didn't realize he had passed until after I finished reading this marvelous memoir of his life growing up in Montana under the guardianship of his father and his maternal grandmother.



The book is one that should be read slowly and savored describing the land where he grew up including the small towns, ranches, sheep farms, and life in western Montana. But more than that, it is the story of a family starting with a narrative of his ancestors who emigrated from Scotland to Montana. Then the loss of his mother at a very young age, his life on the various ranches working at various jobs including raising sheep with his father. And finally, his obtaining a degree at Northwestern University in Chicago and working as a journalist and writer.

The book really captures a way of life from a by-gone era as Doig paints a vivid picture of growing up under the Big Sky of Montana in the open spaces and among the ranchers, farmhands and livestock. He also portrays the townspeople and characters along the way in great descriptions including the denizens of the local bars and other establishments in small town Montana. Overall a great memoir of a life growing up in the west of the mid twentieth century.

---

I've had this book on my TBR shelf for ten years. Finally read it as part of the Oldest TBR Reading & Release Challenge 2016. For now, making available but may later include it in a book box or wild release it.

Off to Bkind2books in TN...a selection from the nonfiction VBB. Enjoy!

I fell in love with Northwestern Montana (Kalispell, Glacier National Park, etc) when we vacationed there a few years ago. I look forward to reading this memoir. Thanks for sharing, Frank.

This was a lovely memoir of the author's life from the time his mother died (he was 6) through early adulthood. It is a book to be sipped and savored. It did take me awhile to complete as I mostly read it before bed, but that does not indicate that it was difficult to read or not compelling. The book was written about 50 years ago, but the memoir is timeless. Doig's family lived and worked the in rural Montana - a land of stark beauty, rolling plains, soaring mountains. Their life is not easy and the harsh winters take its toll on his mother's health. Ivan is raised initially by his father alone and later by both his father and grandmother. Life is challenging, and there are so many accommodations that have to be made. Ivan sometimes has to board with families in town during the school week. He also learns to raise sheep and work on a ranch. The book highlights his love of this land and the hardworking folks that populate it. Above all, we see the deep bonds of love for his family as he finds his way in the world. They are his rock, the touchstone that provides him an anchor as he makes his way in the world. What a lovely tribute to his family and a rugged, uncompromising land.

Quote to remember:

...it was you, in your burring troubadour's way of passing to me all you knew of the valley and the Basin, who enchanted into me such a love of language and story that it has become my lifework...