The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Drummond, Ree. Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage and Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere. HarperCollins, 2020.

“Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage & Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere” by Ree Drummond uses discrete narratives in a loosely chronological order to describe Ree’s life in rural Oklahoma as a wife, mother, and television personality on the Food Network. The memoir is divided into five sections, each discussing a different component of her life and her relationships.

In the first section, “Marriage,” Ree describes her relationship with her husband, Ladd. She emphasizes their shared sense of humor - for example, they like to prank each other with rubber snakes. They also share the same faith, as Ree describes in a chapter on their experiences with Lent. Additionally, they share a love of food as well as a commitment to ranching life. Together, Ree and Ladd run the ranch in Oklahoma, and Ladd has supported Ree in many ways throughout her cooking and blogging careers.

In the next section, “Motherhood,” Reed describes her children (excluding her foster son, who is discussed in a later section): Alex, Paige, Bryce, and Todd. She provides anecdotes about each of her children, describing their personalities and interests. She also speaks about her experience homeschooling them and other unique aspects of living on a rural area many miles from any town. Finally, she discusses her children's attitude towards growing up on a ranch and how their relationship with ranching life has changed multiple times as they've grown older.

In the third section, “The Whole Fam Damily,” Ree speaks more about her in-laws: Ladd’s mother, Nan; Ladd’s father, Chuck, and Ladd’s brother, Tim. Tim is a kind rancher with a tendency to say shocking or frank things. Nan, who passed away a few years before the book was published, was a devoted and extremely capable ranching wife who gave Ree invaluable advice, all while looking put-together and glamorous. Ladd’s father, Chuck, is an old-fashioned rancher who struggled with health issues and captivates everyone’s attention with his deep, booming voice. Ree also describes some of the memories the extended family has shared together, such as spending summers on their farm in southern Oklahoma.

In the fourth section, “Country Life,” Ree continues to expand on the rural, ranching lifestyle. She tells a humorous anecdote about disposing of a skunk that Ladd shot in order to convince him to go on a double date with her. She describes summers, which are the busiest time of the year for ranchers, and gives the reader an introduction to the process of bull castration, a necessary task on the ranch. Throughout the section, Ree gives a summary of many other aspects of “country life”: she talks about the cowboys that work on the farm, the horses and dogs that populate her garden, and some of the challenges and joys that are associated with this unique lifestyle.

In the fifth section, New Territories, Ree describes more recent developments in her life, such as fostering her son Jamar and befriending an Osage man named Herman at a foster parent training. She also gives more detail about her experiences filming her television show, such as her relationships with the filming crew and humorous moments that occurred while she was signing books or was recognized in public. Finally, Ree concludes with a chapter listing and describing her favorite things. Throughout the book, Ree also includes stand-alone supplements between chapters, such as lists, poems, a recipe, and even a ‘report card’ that she gave herself on her mothering skills.