Smorgasbord Bookshelf – New Book on the Shelves – #Memoir – Uprooted: A New Life in the Arizona Sun by Linda Strader

Delighted to introduce you to Linda Strader and her memoir – Uprooted: A New Life in the Arizona Sun.

About the memoir

It’s 1972, and seventeen-year-old Linda Strader’s parents do the unthinkable-they move from Syracuse, New York to Prescott, Arizona. At first, Linda is furious and doesn’t want to move. True, life in Syracuse isn’t perfect, but all her friends are there. Then she has a thought: maybe this move won’t be so bad. What if she can make herself into someone new?

Expecting a desert, Linda is surprised to find Prescott surrounded by pine-covered mountains, lush canyons with clear, cold creeks, and best of all, several new friends willing to show it off to her. Her new friends also share her love of music and even provide some romance in her life, although she holds out hope for a boy she had liked in Syracuse who joins the Navy.

When her father begins a new job in Tucson, he moves there until the house in Prescott is sold, taking Linda with him so she can job hunt. She learns about a Forest Service job on Mt. Lemmon and jumps at the chance, realizing the one constant in her life is her love for the outdoors and nature.

In this prequel to Summers of Fire, Linda learns, in her quest for independence, she’s not made for mediocre employment. That fateful move to Prescott sets her off on a career path that not only changes her life forever, but helps open the world of fighting forest fires to women.

One of the five star reviews for the book

Colin 5.0 out of 5 stars An honest and down-to-earth account of a young woman’s transition into adulthood  Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2022

In this well-written, first-hand account, Strader takes us through the peaks and valleys of her young emotional landscape and the actual Arizona landscape as she navigates her way into adulthood and a career path.

While her story may be most appealing to young female readers, as a grandfather and youth-mentor, I found her book to be a helpful, and sometimes painful, reminder of the challenges and interactions of teenage-life. It gave me fresh insight into the angst that young women face as they discover and try to understand their feelings and forge their adult identity.

As a fan of Strader’s previous book, Summers of Fire, I found this easily readable prequel to be an interesting account of the early experiences that led the author into her ground-breaking role as one of the U.S. Forest Service’s first female firefighters

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

Also by Linda Strader

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – Follow Linda: Goodreads – Blog: Summer of Fire – Facebook: Linda Strader Author – Twitter: @desertplantlove

About Linda Strader

Originally from Syracuse, New York, Ms. Strader moved to Prescott, Arizona with her family in 1972. In 1976, she became one of the first women on a U.S. Forest Service fire crew in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson.

In addition to writing, Ms. Strader is a landscape architect, certified arborist, and watercolor artist. Her second book, Uprooted, was released December 1st, 2021.

 

Thanks for dropping in today and I hope you will be leaving with some books… Sally.