{"product_id":"anything-will-be-easy-after-this-a-western-identity-crisis-9781496220219","title":"Anything Will Be Easy After This: A Western Identity Crisis","description":"Bethany Maile had a mythological American West in mind when she returned to Idaho after dropping out of college in Boston, only to find a farm-town-turned-suburb instead of the Wild West wonderland she remembered. Haunted by what she had so completely misremembered, Maile resolved to investigate her attachment to the western myth, however flawed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Deciding to engage in a variety of \"western\" events, Maile trailed rodeo queens, bid on cattle, fired .22s at the gun range, and searched out wild horses. With lively reportage and a sharp wit, she recounts her efforts to understand how the western myth is outdated yet persistent while ultimately exploring the need for story and the risks inherent to that need. \u003ci\u003eAnything Will Be Easy after This\u003c\/i\u003e traces Maile's evolution from a girl suckered by a busted-down story to a more knowing woman who discovers a new narrative that enchants without deluding. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBethany Maile\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of writing at Boise State University. Her work has been published in \u003ci\u003eShenandoah\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eRumpus\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRiver Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePrairie Schooner\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHigh Desert Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, and the\u003ci\u003e Normal School\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50376735064338,"sku":"9781496220219","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d5ae9e40-7e7b-4887-aab1-8eb57f40fa5f.jpg?v=1728605662","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/anything-will-be-easy-after-this-a-western-identity-crisis-9781496220219","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}