In the Arms of Mountains
A Memoir of Land, Love, and Queer Resistance in Red America
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In the Arms of Mountains
Narrated by:
Mieko Gavia
Pre-order Now for £15.37
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Narrated by:
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Mieko Gavia
Summary
"One doesn’t need to be queer to feel seen, heard, and empowered. ...A reminder that activists need to believe that the impossible can happen."
—Carole King, singer, songwriter, activist, and author of A Natural Woman
Cole LeFavour was 11 years old when their hippie parents moved the family to a guest ranch in Idaho. Hours to the north, as the LeFavours unpacked pots and pans, Richard Butler dreamed of establishing a white separatist nation. It’s here, in one of the reddest states on the map, where Cole learned to raise ducklings, hike the wilderness alone, and build political resistance where you'd least expect it.
This is the story rural America deserves to tell—and that the rest of the country needs to hear. Follow LeFavour’s journey from their 2-mile walk to the school bus along a dirt road to their monumental election as Idaho’s first openly queer state senator. Cole recounts anti-apartheid protests at Berkeley, the solitary life of a fire lookout, and the gravitational pull of unexpected romance and loss. In the Arms of Mountains is a memoir with dirt under its nails and heart on its sleeve. It shatters the carefully constructed “monolithic heartland” myth and rewrites Hillbilly Elegy’s bleak epitaph.
Haunting, hopeful, and full of fight, Cole’s story reminds us of what’s possible when we look beyond red and blue, right and left, to meet each other at the edge of the wild.
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Critic reviews
“One doesn’t need to be queer to feel seen, heard, and empowered. . . . A reminder that activists need to believe that the impossible can happen.”
—Carole King, singer, songwriter, activist, and author of A Natural Woman
“If you still believe in the dominant narrative of a monolithic rural America, read this book. If you, like me, know there is no such monolith, read this book. If you care about the continued right of queer people to thrive, no matter where they live, read this book.”
—Neema Avashia, author of Another Appalachia
“From the majestic natural landscapes of the American West to the serpentine dealings in political backrooms, Cole Lefavour’s incredible life highlights the grandeurs and the abject depths of American culture. Deeply rooted in their queerness, their pacifism, and their unyielding refusal to accept the unacceptable in everyday life, In the Arms of Mountains presents us with a vision of America—despite its numerous historical wrongs and political nightmares—that is rich in hope and dazzling with endless possibilities.”
—Michael Bronski, author of A Queer History of the United States
“Cole LeFavour, Idaho’s first openly queer state senator and a leader in the ‘Add the Words’ campaign, doesn’t just add words here—they test them. Break them. Hurt and heal with them. In the Arms of Mountains is a fierce, earnest portrait of rural queer life that insists on beauty, resistance, and wholeness in places America too often overlooks.”
—Willie Carver Jr., author of Gay Poems for Red States
—Carole King, singer, songwriter, activist, and author of A Natural Woman
“If you still believe in the dominant narrative of a monolithic rural America, read this book. If you, like me, know there is no such monolith, read this book. If you care about the continued right of queer people to thrive, no matter where they live, read this book.”
—Neema Avashia, author of Another Appalachia
“From the majestic natural landscapes of the American West to the serpentine dealings in political backrooms, Cole Lefavour’s incredible life highlights the grandeurs and the abject depths of American culture. Deeply rooted in their queerness, their pacifism, and their unyielding refusal to accept the unacceptable in everyday life, In the Arms of Mountains presents us with a vision of America—despite its numerous historical wrongs and political nightmares—that is rich in hope and dazzling with endless possibilities.”
—Michael Bronski, author of A Queer History of the United States
“Cole LeFavour, Idaho’s first openly queer state senator and a leader in the ‘Add the Words’ campaign, doesn’t just add words here—they test them. Break them. Hurt and heal with them. In the Arms of Mountains is a fierce, earnest portrait of rural queer life that insists on beauty, resistance, and wholeness in places America too often overlooks.”
—Willie Carver Jr., author of Gay Poems for Red States
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