Its Head Came Off By Accident

Mead-Ferro, sister of the current governor of Wyoming, grew up in the still-wild, wild West of the 1960s and %E2%80%9870s, and here beautifully chronicles the colorful history of her family and the land. Muffy and her brothers experienced a childhood where the kids didn't ask a lot of questions, the parents didn't provide much information or punishment, and everybody simply did what they were supposed to do in operating a cattle ranch. The kids had the run of the ranch's thousands of acres, exploring junk in its old shop, fashioning a teepee out of the hide of one of the dead bulls, and learning to drive a tractor before they were teens. Despite all of the wonders and adventures, the ranch didn't hold the same allure for the author as big city dreams, due in part to a complicated relationship with her mother, Mary. That woman's unparalleled skills as a rider, cattle driver, and rancher had the effect of making her daughter feel inadequate%E2%80%94she seemed to be a woman "whose boots I would surely never fill." It's only after years away and Mary's sudden death during a cattle drive that Mead-Ferro decides she wants a little less of skyscrapers and concrete and buys her own tract with a view of the Grand Tetons. She overcomes some of those lingering insecurities, taking up the ranch life that dates back to her great-grandparents, a sign that you can go home again. (Oct.)