Breaking Clean

this is a story about one tough farm wife; lots of twists

I enjoyed this memoir about ranching on marginal land in eastern Montana. The author's perspective is unusual and interesting, and I always wanted to keep turning the next page. I especially liked her description of the difficulties of having to adapt to high school in town after growing up just amongst her family and close neighbors. That said, there are a lot of loose ends in this book. One...more

I enjoyed this memoir about ranching on marginal land in eastern Montana. The author's perspective is unusual and interesting, and I always wanted to keep turning the next page. I especially liked her description of the difficulties of having to adapt to high school in town after growing up just amongst her family and close neighbors. That said, there are a lot of loose ends in this book. One chapter, "Learning Curves," was clearly published previously as a short story and then just plunked wholesale into the longer work. She also pulls a lot of punches -- she seems to be protecting her ex-husband's privacy, for example -- which I respect, but she dangles teasers in front of the reader without delivering. The end is fairly unsatisfying because of this. It feels abrupt and tacked on, and you're left wondering about some of the questions she raised in the opening chapters that never end up being squarely addressed.   hide

Oh, Judy. You are so honest.