Cole LeFavour was 11 years old when their hippie parents moved the family to a guest ranch in Idaho. Hours to the north, as the LeFavours unpacked pots and pans, Richard Butler dreamed of establishing a white separatist nation. It’s here where Cole learned to raise ducklings, hike the wilderness alone, and build political resistance where you’d least expect it.

In their new book, In the Arms of Mountains: A Memoir of Land, Love, and Queer Resistance in Red America, LeFavour shares the journey from their 2-mile walk to the school bus along a dirt road to their monumental election as Idaho’s first openly queer state senator. Cole recounts anti-apartheid protests at Berkeley, the solitary life of a fire lookout, and the gravitational pull of unexpected romance and loss.

Haunting, hopeful, and full of fight, Cole’s story reminds us of what’s possible when we look beyond red and blue, right and left, to meet each other at the edge of the wild.

LeFavour will be in conversation about her book with Martha Williams, the Library's director of programs and education.

Registration recommended to join us in person. To watch live online (no registration needed): https://vimeo.com/event/5924889. The recording will be available to watch later on The Community Library's Event Archive. Book signing with Iconoclast Books to follow.