Summary

In “Sugar Lips,” Ree describes Ladd’s older brother Tim. ‘Sugar Lips’ is a sarcastic nickname that references Tim’s tendency to say frank, strange, or even impolite things. For example, Tim told her Ree not to get a “sour bag” - which is a ranching term that refers to cows’ milk - while she was breastfeeding her children. He also grabbed Ree’s face at. the beginning of her pregnancy and announced that he could tell she was pregnant just by looking at her face. Similarly, he joked to Sally, the daughter of an area rancher, that she had put on weight when she was actually eight months pregnant.

In “Life on the Farm,” Ree describes her extended family’s trips to the farm they own in Southern Oklahoma. Unlike a ranch, which focuses on raising animals for sale, a...