Amy Irvine’s memoir Trespass: Living at the Edge of the Promised Land is by turns a frustrating and enlivening book, with lots of moments far away from these two extremes. Although Irivine is not likable in most conventional ways, she is an honest and precise writer, and in the end that is what makes this book worth reading.
What is Irvine’s problem? I think this quote from the book sums it up: “the rage of Otherness that has threatened to doom my personal life has also rendered me ineffective as an advocate for wilderness protection, as an advocate for anything at all.”
For Irvine, the world is not a safe place. She rages against “the other” just as she often renders herself the other. Growing up a quasi-Mormon, and then living in a very remote area of south-eastern Utah, had done nothing for her sense of belonging. Ranchers versus environmentalists, Mormon's versus "Gentiles"... in this part of the world relationships are strained and people are enemies as polarized communities life together and fight over foundation issues.
Sure, the author ends on a high note, but I have a feeling her story is far from over.
What is Irvine’s problem? I think this quote from the book sums it up: “the rage of Otherness that has threatened to doom my personal life has also rendered me ineffective as an advocate for wilderness protection, as an advocate for anything at all.”
For Irvine, the world is not a safe place. She rages against “the other” just as she often renders herself the other. Growing up a quasi-Mormon, and then living in a very remote area of south-eastern Utah, had done nothing for her sense of belonging. Ranchers versus environmentalists, Mormon's versus "Gentiles"... in this part of the world relationships are strained and people are enemies as polarized communities life together and fight over foundation issues.
Sure, the author ends on a high note, but I have a feeling her story is far from over.
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