Idaho Commission for Libraries

In this collection of autobiographical essays (originally read on Idaho Public Radio), Diane Josephy Peavey writes about her life as a rancher and environmentalist in (as she puts it) “the vast, open landscape of south-central Idaho, at once a sanctuary, a source of strength, and a heartache.”  Funny, lyrical, and profound, these essays describe sheep-shearing, rodeos, state fairs, and the comic misadventures of a woman who never expected to be a rancher but has fallen in love with the life and the landscape. The essays also speak to the politics of ranching in the west as they describe the ranchers’ struggles against unfavorable government policy and encroaching development.  With complexity, vivid detail, and honesty, Bitterbrush Country’s vignettes bring readers into the daily life of a rancher.  Gretel Ehrlich called Peavey’s writing “lucid and charming, full of the stillness and exuberance of the country she so loves and the man who came with it.  Lovely from start to finish.”

National Public Radio Podcasts

*Cover reprinted with permission from Fulcrum Books

Author Information 

Daughter of noted historian of American Indians Alvin Josephy, Jr., Diane Josephy Peavey spent summers in Joseph, Oregon, although she grew up in the East.  After working on the Alaska Lands

legislation in Washington D.C. in the late 1970s, then serving as a special assistant at the department of the Interior in Washington, she married Idaho state senator John Peavey, a third-generation owner of a sheep and cattle operation, Flat Top Sheep Company, north of Carey Idaho at the end of a 24-mile dirt road.  She has served as Director of the Idaho Rural Council, Literature Director of the Idaho Commission on the Arts, and a correspondent for Idaho Public Radio.  She is organizer of the annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Ketchum, Idaho.  She lives with her family at Flat Top Sheep Company.

For more information and writing:
Silver Creek Voices
Loving Rural Life in Idaho Mountain Express

*Photo reprinted with permission from Fulcrum Books

Discussion Questions

1. Popular stereotypes would suggest that the terms “rancher” and “environmentalist” are incompatible.  How does Peavey blend the two in her perspective?  Do you see how they are can have common aims?

2. “Pain and loss,” Bitterbrush Country asserts, “are the constant counterpoint to this beautiful landscape.”  What sorts of pain besides the physical does Peavey document in her work?  What sorts of loss?  What are the compensations?

3. What specific human-caused problems make ranchers’ lives difficult, according to Peavey?  Does she offer solutions?  Are these problems solvable, do you think?

4. As a transplant, what aspects of the rural western landscape most impress Peavey?  Why?  Do you see her defining herself in terms of landscape?

5. What are rural westerners like, according to the vignettes in this book?  Do you agree?  

6. What functions does humor serve in this book?  Pick a few places where comedy and a more serious tone are juxtaposed, and discuss how the shift works.

7. Compare Peavey’s perspective as a transplant to the west with John Rember’s perspective on a similar landscape as a native.  How are they different?  Similar?