Central Kansas Library System

Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag." In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. Her father distrusted the medical establishment, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse....

Chris Crutcher, author of young adult novels such as "Ironman" and "Whale Talk," as well as short stories, tells of growing up in Cascade, Idaho, and becoming a writer.

"Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a clear mission: locate and recover two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels ... off. As the days pass, Ethan's investigation into the disappearance...

The author recounts his 7 months working for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in an isolated location that changed him from a college kid to a man.

The author relates his life and views about life in the midwest, on the west coast, and and in the northwest United States. In addition to relating his experiences about growing up on a farm near Lucas, Kansas, with the Navy during the Korean War, and his life as a principal and teacher in Idaho, Klein also shares some of his philosophies about life and politics.