Secret Geographies: Growing Up and Out of Butte, Montana

by Steve Wing

Secret Geographies is a memoir set in Butte, Montana, that vivid Western community created by - and ravaged by - copper mining. Steve Wing grew up torn between imagination and education, between exploring Butte and escaping Butte. Diving into what the '70s counterculture had to offer in that strange, dying town, he swerved from Evel Knievel to chocolate mescaline to climbing a roller coaster at midnight. Then one day he confronted a Who threw the stick of dynamite under the hood of Grandma Helen's Cadillac?

252 pages, Hardcover

Published January 15, 2023

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book three stars because I also "grew up and out of Butte Montana," so I was able to relate to places and incidents in the story.
That said, I look to be entertained, learn something, and/or be inspired by a book. This book didn't meet any of those criteria. I found the years of drug experimentation and floating through college year after year very disturbing. I wasn't a stellar student either, but the authors experiences were pretty hopeless. I remember the author and a couple of siblings, and this book was a letdown.

[Scott Sparling · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest and entertaining account of what it's like to grow up and try to find your path in the '70s, in a fascinating place that's mostly unknown to outsiders. Full of great stories, written with a lot of wit and, ultimately, optimism.