Lost & Found: The Journey of Socorro

by Linda A. Sanchez

Lost & The Journey of Socorro
By Linda Ann Sanchez

Abandoned on the streets of Guadalajara as a toddler. Adopted into a new life in the United States. Searching for identity, healing, and a place to belong.

In Lost & The Journey of Socorro, Linda Ann Sanchez shares her remarkable memoir of survival, resilience, and self-discovery. From the uncertainty of her earliest years to the struggles of growing up in a world where she never quite felt at home, Linda’s story is one of perseverance and hope.

Through the trials of adoption, the challenges of family relationships, and the search for faith and purpose, Linda discovers that healing isn’t just about finding where you come from—it’s about embracing where you are meant to be.

183 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2025

About the author

Linda Ann Sanchez is the author of Lost & Found: The Journey of Socorro, a heartfelt memoir about resilience, faith, and identity. Found as a toddler on the streets of Guadalajara, Mexico, and later adopted into the U.S., Linda’s journey is one of overcoming abandonment, embracing love, and discovering the healing power of storytelling.

Since then, she has gone on to write and publish across genres—memoir, fiction, bilingual literature, psychological thrillers, and mystery-paranormal. She is currently venturing into speculative fiction with Truth: A Conspiratorium Novel, the first book in her new thriller trilogy, The Redacted Series, and has also co-authored several works that explore justice, betrayal, and inner strength.

Linda is the founder of Legacy & Light Publishing, a platform that supports diverse voices and helps authors share stories that matter—because every story deserves to shine. Through this work, she continues to empower others to reclaim their narratives and connect with readers around the world.

When she's not writing, Linda enjoys time with family, meaningful conversations with readers, and giving back—donating a portion of book proceeds to the orphanage where her life story began.
She loves connecting with readers on Goodreads, so feel free to follow her journey, leave a review, or send a message.

Reviews

[E.K. Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lost & Found: The Journey of Socorro is a heartfelt and inspiring memoir that chronicles the author's incredible journey - from being found on the streets of Mexico as a child, through adoption, marriage, motherhood, divorce, and eventually finding love and healing again.

This isn’t the kind of book I usually reach for, as I don’t often read memoirs, but I found this one deeply engaging. The author's voice is honest and reflective, with thoughtful insights woven throughout. Faith plays a significant role in her story, offering strength and clarity as she navigates complex emotional and personal terrain.

I was particularly moved by the themes of resilience, personal growth, and hope. While I found her personal growth compelling, I was left wanting more clarity around the breakdown of her relationship with her adoptive father - it’s mentioned but not deeply explored.

There were a few formatting issues in my copy, which distracted slightly from the reading experience, but overall, this is a positive and uplifting memoir. I’d definitely recommend it to those who enjoy personal stories of transformation, identity, and faith.

[Sass Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a passionate and uplifting memoir of a woman who was found at three years old wandering the streets of Guadalajara. Police tried to find her parents and then took her to an orphanage.

The author, Linda Sanchez, remembers that many couples came to interview her (to see if she would be suitable as a child),

Finally, she was adopted by Eli and Frances Franco and brought to Hacienda Heights in California. They raised her in Eli’s Jewish faith.

Childhood was relatively pleasant, though Linda had to care for the family dogs. Her adoptive parents argued and eventually divorced, which was hard on Linda.

She went to college at Pomona State, met her husband, and settled down to have two children, Maximus and Keila, and then Maila. But the marriage didn’t last, and the couple divorced, making for a rough emotional time.

Diane’s elderly mother moved in and the two women bonded over their love of books. And so the days went on until Diane met Jesus, a man who soon asked her to marry him. Though Diane said yes, she wasn’t prepared for the reaction of her father, who effectively disowned her.

The memoir ends with Diane recounting how faith got her through difficult times and reciting the Inspired Interpretation of Isaiah 54:17

I liked this book. It was written in a straight forward manner, and one felt a lot of emotion for this child and woman who endured so much in her life. She had attained a career and had children she loved and a life that with all its drama worked out for the best. Very gripping and emotional read.

[Jesus Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight to the Heart Storytelling.
The 5 Stars is for reading a book that proves it HAD to be written, and it was written in a manner that allowed the reader to know that THIS story had to be told. Having experienced the contents of the book first hand, I know that a lot was not added, but it made me appreciate John's words when he describes Christ life, "and there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (John 21:25). The fastest way between two points is a straight line, and this book punches straight to the heart with no added flair. There is so much discovery in this book, about the self, the soul, and the fortitude needed to make it through life. It made me ponder "if God is going to allow the weight of doing what we want to find 'happiness', then we must take on the responsibility of what that entails." The author wanted that happiness and did what it took to attain it. I am ecstatic that this story finally got told. Full Disclosure: I have an absolute crush on the author. Wow! What a hottie!

[Anne-Marie Madore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received money for my birthday. I decided to buy myself a special gift; a copy of Linda Sanchez's book. I read the comments from other reviewers and they spoke highly of this book. Testimony stories are powerful. I expected to be amazed as I read Lost & Found The Journey of Socorro, and I was not disappointed. Yes; God is good, all the time!

For me, this book is not just a memoir but a testimony of how God works in our lives when we don't even realize it. The title and picture of the dear child on the cover captured my attention.

The Preface draws readers in as the author shares her purpose for writing her story. Those who ever felt lost, abandoned, or have struggles of their own, will perhaps find hope and the strength to reclaim their own lives. She came to understand that healing didn’t always come from knowing. Some questions have never been answered.

Each chapter ends with a Reflection. As I read her words, I reflected on my own life. How God brought me through the challenges I faced, especially during times I didn't understand what was happening.

I applaud Linda Sanchez for her honesty and wisdom as she shared her personal journey of divorce. Yes; she faced many challenges and hardships, and she also had victories. I agree with the author; divorce is not a sign of failure, but an opportunity to learn and do better. This chapter will benefit those going through a divorce, especially where children are involved. So many don’t know how to move on. This book will lovingly show them how.

Linda Sanchez loved her mother, but never felt the deep mother-daughter relationship she longed for. In Full Circle with My Mother, readers see the transformation that takes place when Linda takes her aging mother into her home to care for her. And there were many challenges, but the rewards were greater.

Faith and hope are words that come to my mind while reading Linda Sanchez's memoir. At birth she was given the name Socorro which in Spanish means help or relief. The book begins telling the story of a child in need of help, lost, vulnerable, and searching for a place to belong.

But that’s not how the story ends. Over time, a lovely mature woman emerges, knowing God was there throughout her whole life, and His plan unfolded just as He intended.

I recommend this book. I was blessed by reading it.

[Audrey Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is more than a memoir but not an autobiography. Although related in roughly chronological order, its purpose is more than telling the author’s life story. It is intended to offer the reader an encouraging model for dealing with life’s challenges.

Readers looking for a gut-wrenching account of the struggles of a child found wandering the streets of Guadalajara will be disappointed. So will those who expect details of an extensive search for birth parents. Rather, the child is adopted by a couple from California and experiences a middle-class upbringing there.

What follows is a straightforward account of an American life in the years on either side of the turn of the millennium. In direct, unvarnished prose, Sanchez describes key events in her childhood, young adult years, and middle age: school, college, marriage, motherhood, divorce, and maintaining a life through all these transitions.

Rather than supplying a lot of personal details, the author focuses on how she dealt with the challenges and difficulties of her life, ultimately reclaiming and realizing her true self. The account is imbued with the author’s Christian faith, but is in no way an attempt to proselytize. She makes it clear how her faith has helped her, but does not say the reader must follow the same path.

I remarked at the beginning of this review that this book is not an autobiography. That is because it does not provide much detail about the author’s life beyond what is necessary to create a life-lesson in each chapter, summed up in a section called “Reflection” at the end. Life events are described in enough detail for the reader to appreciate their importance, but a good part of each chapter is devoted to how the author dealt internally with the events in question.

The style of the book is simple and direct. There is little in the way of literary artfulness or humor. It is told from the heart with sincerity and good intentions. It will likely bring comfort and inspiration to many readers.

[Terrence Poppa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s hard to imagine a two or three year old child wandering alone amid the swirl of an enormous city, but that is the experience in Guadalajara that author Linda A. Sanchez reveals in her touching account of her life: Perdida y Hallada, El Viaje De Socorro (Lost & Found, the Journey of Socorro). She was saved by police who took her to an orphanage where she stayed for two years before being adopted by an American couple from California.

How did she end up alone in a big city? Did she wander away from her family and got lost? Was she abandoned by heartless or impoverished parents? She never found out. The book covers her journey into adulthood, but it is those first experiences that are among the most poignant. She recalls how painful it was to be passed over by prospective parents who visited the orphanage to find a child to adopt and chose one of the other children.

Perdida y Hallada is about identity. Her first name was Socorro Cervantes, changed by the orphanage to Socorro Ruiz Cabanas only to be renamed Linda Ann Franco by her adoptive parents, and she was later also known as Leah Bat Eliyahu when she converted to Judaism, but dropped the latter when she embraced Jesus. She is philosophical about her often bumpy journey through the full range of life experiences as she learns who she truly is: Your identity is who you choose to become.

The book is available in English, but anyone with an intermediate level of Spanish would pick up a lot of useful vocabulary by reading the Spanish version.

[Lynn Helton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of one woman's journey, through both wonderful and awful experiences, toward becoming the person that she is meant to be. It's a personal tale into which the author welcomes the reader as she reflects on and shares life lessons from her past. Imbued with the author's faith, the tale relates her realizations without becoming preachy. While the book uses elements of both memoir and autobiography, those serve mainly as support for the author's reflections on significant moments of her life that have led her to where she is now.

The writing is straightforward and the prose style spare, making for an easy read. The many reflections are thought-provoking, although sometimes the memoir/autobiography portions—glimpses really, presented mainly with broad strokes—seemed to hold the reader at perhaps too much of a distance to really connect.

Overall, this book invites the reader to consider life lessons of growth, love, reclaiming one's life, and the connections of friendship and family, with messages of encouragement and hope. It's an engaging read.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. My review is my own honest, uninfluenced opinion, my personal experience reading the book.)

[Jennifer Withers · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging story which I enjoyed for the most part. Although memoirs are different from fiction, memoirs are still supposed to bring the reader a sense of events unfolding, so they feel a part of it, and this is where I feel Sanchez went wrong. She tells everything after the fact, which gave me a sense of being outside it all. I would've liked to have seen the scenes unfolding as she experienced them - her experience of being adopted, through her senses, dialogue, and a sense of place, much like if she'd been writing about a character. I would've liked to have experienced her sense of pain and betrayal when her marriage fell apart, but instead we're told about it. This story would've been far more gripping and immersive otherwise.
There's no dialogue throughout the entire book, and there's a lot of repetition, which made sections of the story a bit redundant.

[Amber Daulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this personal and religious memoir, Linda tells us the story of her life, starting when she was a toddler lost in the streets of Guadalajara to her adoption and life in the United States where she becomes the person she was meant to be. In sharing her story, she’s allowing herself to be vulnerable for everyone to see, which takes great strength. I don’t normally read memoirs and I really don't like reading anything faith-based, but I found this one to be interesting and full of hope. I would’ve liked more information on Linda’s childhood and her relationship with her adopted parents—this part interested me the most—but the story flowed well from one significant life moment to the next.
4 Stars

[David Towner · Rating 5 out of 5]

He leído muchos de los libros de Linda Sánchez y sabía un poco acerca de sus antecedentes de su biografía. No estoy seguro de cómo lo perdí, pero accidentalmente me encontré con este libro y descubrí que era su historia de vida. ¡Qué increíble historia de resiliencia y auto-motivación! Ahora es obvio por qué es una escritora tan dotada y una narradora vívida.

[M.T. Groom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda tells a compelling story about her journey, some religious overtones, but not preachy, so don't be put off by that.
Reflections at end of each chapter where thoughtful, but not too heavy. resilience and identity come through strong in the book.
A lovely read, and made me think!

[Jagdish Arora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir is a heartfelt and poignant account of one woman's journey to find her place in the world, exploring themes of identity, family, and faith, and ultimately discovering that healing and belonging come from embracing one's true self.