Ree Drummond’s Frontier Follies was all I had hoped for in her memoir, the story of her family and life on the Drummond Ranch. I watch “The Pioneer Woman” on TV, but I watch for the anecdotes and scenes of ranch life. I don’t use her recipes or cooking equipment. I haven’t read her cookbooks, only the story of meeting and marrying her husband, Ladd, The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. Ranch life is so different from my life that I find it fascinating.
This book is a celebration of everyday life on a ranch in Oklahoma. The timeline spans almost twenty-five years beginning with the first year of marriage, and a fast pregnancy and the birth of their daughter, Alex. Ree covers everything, all four births of her children, and the embarrassments and joy that went hand-in-hand. Her story of her cattle rancher husband, who grew up with brothers on a ranch, facing the birth of a daughter, is funny. Ladd called his mother from the hospital. “What do you do with girls?” “The same thing you do with boys.” So, he did, buying them cowboy books and clothes, and putting them to work on the ranch from the time they were two, just as he did with the two boys that followed the two girls.
The book is current, covering COVID-19, when the two oldest moved home, one from her first post-college job, and one from college. Ree makes no secret that it was great to have them home, but the family now ate constantly.
I like the honest, warts and all, anecdotes. While the book might not make sense to some people who aren’t familiar with the Drummond family from television, those who are fans will enjoy catching up with the lives of Ree, Ladd, their four children, a new foster son, Ladd’s father, Chuck, and all the assorted animals on the ranch. Frontier Follies was just what I expected.
Ree Drummond’s website is www.thepioneerwoman.com
Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage & Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere by Ree Drummond. William Morrow, 2020. ISBN 9780062962751 (hardcover), 340p.
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I do watch every so often. She is a smart lady. I have this book on my holds list and am 2 in line!
I hope you enjoy it, Gram!
That sounds fascinating. I watched her shows when they first started on Food Network, but not lately. I will look around for the first one: The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. Do they both cover the same ground?
They don’t cover the same ground, Tracy. The first one deals a little with her pre-Ladd, their meeting, dating, and getting to be a rancher’s wife. The second really picks up from there, and includes 2020.