![]() Even through the tough times and sometimes harsh words, their sense of family is evident. His admiration for his father and grandmother shines through as they struggle for survival. They did it for Ivan, to make a home for him. They often lived in cramped, rough housing under difficult circumstances including harsh weather and grueling terrain, all while trying to tolerate one another. ![]() Although the two–father and grandmother–were often at odds, together they pooled their resources to eke out a living. After a while Ivan’s maternal grandmother came to live with them and help take care of the little boy. Ivan’s mother died of her life-long struggle with asthma, leaving his father to care for his six-year-old son while working in various jobs as a top hand on cattle ranches, or herding sheep in hilly, harsh country. ![]() ![]() ![]() Reading this excellent memoir was the perfect book, both for enjoying the story itself and for being surrounded by the rugged Montana landscape which Doig so aptly describes. I couldn’t resist This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind by Montana native Ivan Doig (1939 – 2015). While camping in Montana, my husband and I happened to stop in the town of Seeley Lake at a small general store with a big book selection. ![]()
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