The essays and poems in this collection come together to create a portrait of place, the upper Midwest of my childhood and young adult years. Moments of climbing in the haymow, gazing at stars, and canning in the kitchen linger on detail and work toward question and reflection. Who are we? What is the significance of this life, these actions, these ways of thinking? Why does this place matter, and how do I matter within it? Sketches of Minnesota lakeshores and Iowa cornfields go on to reveal a process, the journey of experience, education, thought, and discovery that has led me to embrace a set of values at once alternative, traditional, controversial, beloved, and pertinent to today's America.