Buck’s Peak, Idaho, 1995–2015

Buck’s Peak is the home of the “Princess,” a piece of a mountain named thus by Tara’s father, that Tara adores (xv). It is also the site of her isolated childhood home. By the home is her father’s junkyard that he uses to collect scraps to sell. Her father grows up on the land and brings her mother there to start their life together, away from the rest of society. The home smells of rotten plants and is rarely cleaned. It becomes the site of her mother’s growing business selling salves and other homeopathic remedies. Tara feels a strong connection to the land on which she grows up, but her home is the setting of many unhealthy and abusive interactions that outweigh the lighthearted moments.

Worm Creek Opera House, Valley of Buck’s Peak

Worm Creek Opera House is where...