Out Here on Our Own: An Oral History of an American Boomtown - Paperback

by J. J. Anselmi (Author)

J.J. Anselmi's Out Here on Our Own tells the story of Rock Springs, Wyoming, a mining boomtown with a history of brutal racial violence, widespread addiction, prostitution, and a staggeringly high per-capita suicide rate--yet a place that has proved remarkably resilient. Anselmi stitches together an array of original interviews with people who've seen those things firsthand, tracing the boom-bust trajectory of a town known for its corruption, vice, and violence. Amid such horrors as the massacre of Chinese miners in 1885 and the ongoing methamphetamine and opioid epidemics, the town has fought hard to keep its identity of rugged individualism intact.

In 2022 Rock Springs is slipping into yet another bust. Anselmi's narrative offers searing personal accounts of a community in crisis, whose problems are fanned by severely limited mental health resources, dying industries, and Wyoming's still-pervasive idea that people should deal with their troubles alone. In a community's own words, Out Here on Our Own depicts a place that's as tough and weathered as the sagebrush and sandstone surrounding it.

Author Biography

J.J. Anselmi is the author of Doomed to Fail: The Incredibly Loud History of Doom, Sludge, and Post-Metal and Heavy: A Memoir of Wyoming, BMX, Drugs, and Heavy Fucking Music. An active metal musician, he lives in Long Beach, California, with his family. Jordan Utley is a photographer and filmmaker based in Salt Lake City. His photography may be viewed at jordanutley.com.