A journalist based in Washington, DC returns to her small Idaho hometown to explore the social, political, and economic factors behind who stays and who leaves the place behind. Bringing together both memoiristic and journalistic approaches with concerns critics say echoes Wendell Berry, the author interrogates what we owe the places we come from, especially as they decay—and what becomes of America’s heartland in a time of increasing economic hardship, incongruous regulation, and environmental disrepair. Can these inequities be healed, and can small towns like Emmet, Idaho return to their former glory? And if so, what does it take—and how might we reimagine what “progress” really looks like?  (This book may contain a sharpie mark on the top or bottom edge and may show mild signs of shelfwear.)