Uprooted: A New Life in the Arizona Sun

by Linda Strader

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 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.

260 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2021

Reviews

[David Pinals · Rating 4 out of 5]

This surprisingly poignant coming of age memoir offers unusual insight to the life of a teenager forced to move to a new place before the start of her senior year in high school. Although I am not typically drawn to books like this I was intrigued by the fact that the author attended the same high school in Syracuse, NY as I did (Nottingham). Linda would have been in my graduating class if she had not moved to Prescott, AZ in 1972. Even though Linda and I travelled in different friend groups in high school I thought it would be interesting to read about her experiences both in Syracuse and in her new life in Arizona. The book did not disappoint. I think it was particularly courageous of the author to give the reader access to her most intimate thoughts and feelings by using her original diaries as a source for this memoir. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel to this book, "Summers of Fire: A Memoir of Adventure, Love and Courage" to find out more about Linda's life as a firefighter.

[Josie Baron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful memoir about family and growth.

Teenagehood for itself can be a moment of turbulence in one's life. Things seem to change too fast and a load of possibilities ahead may be followed by a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about which path to take.

And then you can add a change to a place miles away from the place you call home. That's
what seventeen-year-old Linda had to face when her parents announced that the family was moving to Prescott, Arizona. From leaving her friends behind to start a new life where she knew no one, to finally becoming one of the first women to join the Forest Service on Mt. Lemmon."Uprooted" is a memoir that you'll read in one sit! With an engaging voice and interesting narrative, Linda shows us the ups and downs of being human.

I also have to mention the number of times that I felt my blood boiling
because of the things she had to deal with only because she was a woman in a men's universe.

I super recommend the read!

[Valerie Poore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Linda Strada’s first book a few years ago and was impressed by her unflinching honesty. This book, the prequel, has the same quality. As an adult of the same age as the author is now, I’d forgotten all the emotional wrangles of being a teenager and falling in love. I think it was particularly awkward in the 70s when the moral landscape had changed after the 60s era of flower power and permissiveness, so it was hard for a teenager to navigate the difference between love and lust. In her diaries, Linda Strada described her turmoils with insight, reflection and maturity despite being naïve in many ways. The book also reveals how, even then, finding a job without good qualifications was difficult, especially when she knew normal jobs were not what she was looking for. This is a compelling, well-written and revealing book that has the quality of a coming-of-age novel. Highly recommended!

[Tammy Horvath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever looked for love in all the wrong places?

Linda Strader says she’s attracted to lost, sad souls because she knows what that’s like. I agree with her assessment of herself, but I think she was also trying to find someone who’d unconditionally love her. She’s had so many love interests that it was hard to keep their names straight. But by the last 3/4 of the book, I found myself immersed in her story and was rooting for her to open her heart and find the perfect man to settle down with so she could live happily ever after. Before that could happen, she’d need to find happiness within herself. Would she find this when she gets a fantastic job as a firefighter? Pick up your copy of Uprooted to see if Linda finds her one true love.