Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands

by Linda Ronstadt, LAWRENCE DOWNES, Bill Steen (Photographer)

A San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller 2023 Southwest Book of the Year Selection "The arid land that starts in Arizona and stretches into Mexico's west coast is Ronstadt's foothold in the world. It's a story she has told through music, and now wants to tell through food."— The New York Times "The book is many things at once. It’s a portrait of a place, the Sonoran Desert, and it’s a genealogy of sorts, an archival romp through Ronstadt’s family history."— Vogue "An album of loves for the high desert of Sonora and Ronstadt's hometown of Tucson."— NPR Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Linda Ronstadt takes readers on a journey to the place her soul calls home, the Sonoran Desert, in this candid new memoir. In Feels Like Home , Grammy award-winning singer Linda Ronstadt effortlessly evokes the magical panorama of the high desert, a landscape etched by sunlight and carved by wind, offering a personal tour built around meals and memories of the place where she came of age. Growing up the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants and a descendant of Spanish settlers near northern Sonora, Ronstadt’s intimate new memoir celebrates the marvelous flavors and indomitable people on both sides of what was once a porous border whose denizens were happy to exchange recipes and gather around campfires to sing the ballads that shaped Ronstadt’s musical heritage. Following her bestselling musical memoir, Simple Dreams , this book seamlessly braids together Ronstadt’s recollections of people and their passions in a region little understood in the rest of the United States. This road trip through the desert, written in collaboration with former New York Times writer Lawrence Downes and illustrated throughout with beautiful photographs by Bill Steen, features recipes for traditional Sonoran dishes and a bevy of revelations for Ronstadt’s admirers. If this book were a radio signal, you might first pick it up on an Arizona highway, well south of Phoenix, coming into the glow of Ronstadt’s hometown of Tucson. It would be playing something old and Mexican, from a time when the border was a place not of peril but of possibility.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Music, Biography, History, Autobiography, Family

218 pages, Hardcover

Published October 4, 2022

About the author

Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American popular music singer. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award and numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums. She has also earned nominations for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe award.

Reviews

[Cathrine ☯️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌵🌵🌵🌵
The beautifully bound hard-copy of this book is filled with culture, family, history, food, photography, and music of course.
It led me to numerous links listening to Linda’s rich heritage of Mexican songs. Oh my soul, the notes just soared out of her vocal cords, especially in her collections from Canciones de mi Padre.
I love the southwest and her childhood memories of growing up in Tucson Arizona and her earlier family history in the Sonoran borderlands brings it to life, like flowers blooming in the desert after a rare rain.

[L B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had very high expectations for this book. My expectations were exceeded. Wonderful portrait of the Sonoran borderlands.

[Gronk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected this to be a description of Ronstandt's childhood but this was much more interesting than that. This is a description of a region of the Sonoran Desert spanning the border between Arizona and Mexico. It is a history lesson of the people that lived there. It is a personal history of multiple Ronstadt generations. It is a brief window into the culture of the region and of the Ronstadt clan.
There is much joy in this book, it is a celebration of food, music, family. Her sense of belonging, her sense of pride in that belonging, is loud and clear.
There is also sorrow and food for thought. How we declare ownership of land and how we set up borders which we defend tooth and nail, because we can, is sad. How we misuse land - destroying fragile ecosystems, is sad. These are minor parts of the book.

I am amazed at the talent that is described within the Ronstadt clan. For someone who can't sing to save my life it is hard to imagine everyone in the family singing like meadowlarks. For someone without a multigenerational extended family mostly living in the same place it is hard to imagine the comfort of gatherings. Ronstadt is a bit over the top with how beautiful and talented everyone is/was.

The recipes are intriguing. While I likely will not try any without major modifications (way too much lard, meat, cheese) I enjoyed reading through them.
Finally the photographs are exquisite.

[BookTrib.com]

FEELS LIKE HOME: A SONG FOR THE SONORAN BORDERLANDS by Linda Ronstadt is a profoundly moving and visceral memoir and travelog, rooted in place, containing family, heritage, history, and, food!

Read the full review on Booktrib.com

[Matthew Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meaningful educational material presented in a charming, conversational style. This book is a quick read (I read it in 2 days and I'm usually a slow reader!) with beautiful photographs and compelling exposition, sprinkled throughout with interesting recipes that are also an essential part of the narrative. Ms. Ronstadt's humble, thoughtful, and genuine personality comes through the pages quite clearly, as she explores the landscape, the history, the people, the culture and the politics of the Sonoran borderlands through the lens of her own fascinating family's history. A fun read, and the accompanying playlist of songs from, and about, this region (available separately on the internet or on CD) brings it even more to life.

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Our generation would become the first group of Mexican Americans to grow up comfortable with both sides of that term. Seeing Ronstadt sing in Spanish on national television, her album cover published in newspapers, taught us that it was OK to be unapologetically Mexican, no matter how assimilated we may be."

'It's so easy to fall in love' with Linda Ronstadt's music. Because of her many hits, she was the richest woman in the music industry in the seventies. She sang outside of any genre limitations. She was also a bridge between cultures, having grown up in the Sonoran Borderlands. She has some German heritage as well. But, she never really became boxed in as anything but a great person and musician. Our parents' generation loved her music.

She just recently collaborated with Lawrence Downes for this book published last October. It is an enjoyable mix of memoir, geographical and cultural description, and biography. It is not a long book, and is well worth reading for any fan of her music. She speaks of being pushed to Americanize as a schoolchild, and of the difficulties of growing up Hispanic. It is crazy to think that many of the problems she mentions still exist today.

Reading this may bring back memories of wearing bell bottoms and going to rodeos and living life before internet. But, a little memory sometimes 'feels like home... feels like a long way back where I come from.'

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Co-author Downes (There Is Just Us) calls this book a “historical-musical-edible memoir.” While it’s not a straight-forward autobiography like Ronstadt’s "Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir" from 2013, FEELS LIKE HOME is a beautifully written celebration of her extended family, the Sonoran Desert (that straddles her hometown of Tucson, Arizona and northern Mexico) and the food and culture that shaped her.

She grew up surrounded by music. “Music was the homegrown magic we all learned to conjure,” she writes. She writes she was “saturated in song from earliest childhood, when melodies and harmonies and chords enter your body through your ears and skin, mingle with your brain cells, and nestle in your heart .”

Sprinkled throughout the photo-filled book are twenty recipes ranging from Ronstadt Family Meatballs, Sonoran Hot Dogs (the caption under the photo of the final product reads: “Somewhere under that avalanche of toppings is a hot dog wrapped in bacon. It’s all too much, which is why it’s so good.”), El Minuto’s Cheese Crisps and her grandmother’s “knock-you-flat” eggnog.

Linda Ronstadt celebrates her roots in this engaging, personal and entertaining hybrid family memoir/cookbook and social history.

[Amy Lively · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful history of the Ronstadt family and the Sonoran desert, especially Tucson. This began as a cookbook but became much more. I mostly listened to the audiobook on walks and hikes about 100 miles north of the area where Linda grew up. The vivid descriptions of the sights and smells of the desert made these walks even more enjoyable. I suppose some might be uncomfortable with her flat out disgust with the 45th president’s characterization of the border and refugees. If so, those people are not fully grasping how deeply Sonora is in her DNA.

A nice treat is the playlist she includes at the end of the book. I look forward to exploring the music that has meant so much to her.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh..I just finished this beautiful book of desert and song and food and family. I am a huge Linda Ronstadt fan, and reading her memories and thoughts about where she grew up and all the things that have informed her as an artist…well, it does a heart good. The book gets better and better as it goes, and ends with a dream. Poignant and sentimental and never short on insights into the lives of real people…and did I mention phenomenal photography? This book will stay with me for a long time.

[Edward Amato · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful book. I had once thought to write something similar to this that would reflect my families past related to the recipes I grew up with (Italian-Americans live to eat). The Photos of Bill Steen were spectacular. It was also so refreshing to read something beautiful about the borderlands of Mexico and the US. I am also a fan of Linda Ronstadt so enjoyed reading about her family history. A feel-good book that makes one optimistic about the future.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful love story to her culture, music, and home. I now want to binge listening to her music and all that I can find of her beautiful Mexican American heritage.

[Mary List · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linda's prose serenade for the land she loves

This was a wonderful book. Linda Ronstadt presents a nostalgic look, and a prose serenade for the land she loves

[Wendy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is Ronstadt’s love letter and homage to the Sonoran Borderlands --- southern Arizona, northern Mexico --- which is where her ancestors settled, lived, and where she grew up. I’ve been a fan of hers since the 1960s and thus knew she was from Tucson, which I visited. She nostalgically looks back at early childhood days there, revering the land and its people. Ronstadt is truly deeply grounded to and deeply loves this land. She writes lovingly of its beauty, yet doesn’t hide its harsh and dangerous landscape and climate. She also laments that most of what she experienced in her youth there is gone. I so relate to that of my own birth city.

An avid reader, Linda writes well and intelligently. The history, native peoples, biology geology, food, and music are well researched. I particularly enjoyed the family letters she shared, which give insight to her family history. All the photographs of the landscape, food, locals and family portraits are lovely.

Food plays a very important in that land. Reading about the picnics her family and friends had and continue to have made me envious. Local and family recipes are included. Although I have no desire to make any of them myself, I sure would love to taste them.

Music also plays a big part of her early life there. It was interesting reading about her family’s connection to and participation in music and to see how she was so involved in and drawn to music from a young age. Included in the book are a list of songs they she grew up hearing and singing, some of which she recorded as an adult. This book doesn’t go into deep detail about her interest in music, so fans may be disappointed. I would recommend fans read her excellent biography “Simple Dreams” for more in-depth information about her musical odyssey.

Sometimes, however, the book goes off on tangents, and sometimes she repeats herself (a good editor should have caught this). The book is co-written by Lawrence Downes, so the lack of synchronicity could be traced to having two authors. The book is clearly Ronstadt’s voice though.

In the “Frontera” chapter, Ronstadt’s communicates her anger regarding the treatment of immigrants crossing the border. Surprisingly, she drops 2 “f” bombs in those angry passages. She holds no bars expressing her political opinions, which I appreciate. The “f” bombs, however, were a bit disturbing and rattling.

Her bio at the end of the book states she is “a descendant of Spanish settlers”. I find it strange that her German ancestry is not mentioned there at all. She does, however write about her German immigrant great grandfather Friedrich Augustus Ronstadt earlier in the book. The book undoubtedly shows that she identifies more with and favors her Spanish and Mexican heritage more than her German. This made me very curious as to why she doesn't identify much with her German DNA. I have heard that the music German immigrants brought with them to Texas and the southwest influenced Mexican music.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book on my US travels last year, but didn't think I could carry the weight for a couple of months. I'm glad I picked it up now that I'm back home in Australia. This is a gorgeous book photographically, the design and the writing. Linda describes this book as an “historical-musical-edible memoir.” It started off as a cookbook but when she and co-author Lawrence Downes took a trip to the birthplace of her grandfather Banamichi Sonora, the place where her great-grandfather settled after emigrating to Mexico from Hanover mid-19th century, the focus changed and expanded. Linda expands on her childhood growing up in a very different Tucson and compares it to what it is today. A lot of historical building and neighbourhoods totally destroyed and transformed into cookie cutter homes. She talks about how the state (Arizona) and the USA as a whole has become much more afraid and unwelcoming especially to migrants, forgetting both where they have come from and the words on the Statue of Liberty. She says she was always proud of her Father when in gatherings if someone started talking ill of the Mexicans (meaning those of darker skin) as being lazy or 'dirty' he was say none of that talk and stood up to this meanness and it stopped for that conversation at least due to the respect and standing he had in the community. She talks of the joy of road trips for a short holiday, a picnic or on business trips with her Father during school holidays that there was always singing in harmony with the whole family. Music was always in the house. While her Dad ran a hardware store, music was his passion. And she talks of groups trying to make a difference and with hope that the country will turn back from its fear mongering and general hatred of all that are different. This is gorgeous story of a life well lived from a strong family background that was loving and nurturing. And then there are the recipes separating each chapter. Many would be hard to follow in Australia due to lack of access to certain ingredients but there are a couple I will try. A caveat: I got to know Michael Ronstadt, Linda's youngest brother, early in 2006 and represented him as part of the Santa Cruz River Band and later with his sons as the Ronstadt Generations. He passed away a couple of years ago way too young. And Linda mentions this as well how she misses her younger brother and her older sister Susie who also passed away several years ago.

[Lisa-Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this wandering reminiscence about Ronstadt’s affection for the Sonoran Borderlands. It taught me about the history of the land, her Mexican heritage, and the desert environment. I did not know that Ronstadt was raised in the Tucson desert before becoming a worldwide rock star in the 1970s. As a 14-year-old, I eagerly listened to her songs (“Rock Me On The Water,” “Different Drum,” “You’re No Good“) and envied her vagabond life at the Troubadour hanging out with Jackson Browne and Neil Young. “The Rio Sonora region is one of the prettiest corners of Mexico, a landscape etched by sunlight and carved by wind and softened by lush evergreens. This stretch of desert happens to be my foothold in the world,” Ronstadt writes. “I believe in genetic memory, that sense of a place that lives in the bloodstream and passes down the generations. Wherever I’ve lived, wherever I travel, my soul is always winging down the road, south over the border, back to my land and my roots in Sonora.”

I share her belief in genetic memory; I feel a similar magnetic pull to certain places on earth. Ronstadt recites the history of her German immigrant great-grandfather, Friedrich Ronstadt, who joined the Mexican army in the 1840s then stayed on in Sonora to run a ranch. He played the guitar, establishing music as a cornerstone in Ronstadt’s life. Fred married Margarita Redondo, daughter of a prosperous Sonoran rancher. Linda was raised on all kinds of music, and she weaves musical themes into the story, but the focus is her connection to the land. She also takes on “the disease of exclusion and hostility” which plagues the borderlands. All in all, it is an uplifting look at the best the desert has to offer. “With them, and all the musical Ronstadts, I am certain that the threads that connect us all are in no danger of breaking…So I fall back on the music, the unbreakable chain of melody. It hasn’t failed us yet.”

[Jane Healy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Linda Ronstadt fan and lover of the U.S. Southwest, I knew I wanted to read this book. I was surprised when I saw it! This is no small volume; rather, it has the heft of a coffee table book. Unlike a coffee table book, this one goes well beyond flipping through the pages of pictures. I was immediately drawn in to the history, geography, and lifestyle of Ronstadt's ancestors in Sonora. The compelling writing by Ronstadt and Lawrence Downes, accompanied by archival photos and photos by Bill Steen, make for a wide-ranging look at the U.S. Southwest/Mexico borderlands of the Sonoran Desert and the Tucson area.
Part memoir, part family story, part history, part current events, part geography, part cookery, part music and arts, and part peek into the future, this book put me in these places special to Ronstadt and gave me a feel for the area that only someone who was raised there could express. While Ronstadt loves this area--or maybe BECAUSE she loves the area--she doesn't shy away from sharing negative opinions about certain policies and popular views throughout history.
Despite its size, the book is an interesting and easy read enhanced with photos. The authentic, and in some cases, family recipes are well described with ingredients and processes that could bring Sonora to any kitchen.
The physical book is beautiful, using high-quality paper, well-sewn binding, and interesting layout.

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

A picture painted in photos, words and song.

I picked this book up because when I flipped through the pages, the vistas are simply breathtaking. I’ve never been to Arizona and haven’t seen the Sonora, but I want to. If it’s anything as pretty as the photos, then I want to be there.

This is the place Linda Ronstadt grew up. She was surrounded by her American and Mexican roots. To say she’s steeped in both cultures is an understatement. She writes eloquently and it felt like I was really there. The recipes included are fascinating and while I’ll have to order some of the ingredients online (we don’t have some of the specialties around my neck of the woods), I can’t wait to try to make them. I loved every page.

I will say there is a small bit that gets a tad political. Keep in mind, Ronstadt is writing from her own perspective and how she’s been affected by what she’s writing about. I won’t give away spoilers, but the politics are there. They didn’t take anything away from the story for me because it’s part of who she is and part of the culture down there. She’s writing from experience. It might not be for some and that’s okay, but don’t not read this book because of that. You’ll be missing out.

If you’ve ever wondered what this part of the country looks like, tastes like and feels like, then pick this book up and give it a try. You’ll be glad you did.

[Russell Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda Ronstadt’s and Lawrence Downes’s Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands is a book to savor. And that word savor has two meanings here. Ronstadt shares her favorite recipes of childhood and family, and they all seem to be delicious and enticing. But we also savor Ronstadt’s stories of her hometown Tucson, her family, her deep love of the Sonora region of Mexico, and some of her favorite people. The book is chockful of Bill Steen’s evocative photographs, a feast for the eyes and the soul. Feels Like Home is a lovely tribute to Ronstadt’s childhood, her family, her Mexican American heritage, and the region she loves so very much. Yes, this is book to be savored, not to be devoured quickly. I spent several months enjoying it, picking it up to enjoy a few more pages, to gaze at the gorgeous photos, to read the mouth-watering recipes accompanied by family stories, and to just sit a spell with Linda Ronstadt and her people.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Audible Version) Most memoirs of musicians focus on their own lives or careers but this one goes much further back. In this though we go deeper into Linda's family history and where she grew up in the Sonoran Borderlands region of Arizona(U.S. and Mexican border). In what was apparently first conceived as a cookbook soon turned into a love letter from Linda to the place where she grew up. Through the eyes of her family we learn abut the the history of the region and how it has changed over the years. On a personal level food is still mentioned but we also see how her families love of music undoubtedly influenced her live and career. Linda's love for her family and home where she grew up is readily apparent throughout the book. If you're a fan of Linda's and want to really dive deep into her life, influences where she grew up this would be a great book to read.

[Brian Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

Surround yourself with family and friends, good music and food, art and architecture, and when possible mix all together. Linda’s is a life well mixed and lived. Here, she brings us to the Tucson (and points south) of her youth, told partly through regular visits she made there and to Sonoran Mexico over the many years. And there are oodles of recipes and beautiful photos.

The border that was little more than an imaginary line in her youngest days has greatly changed over that life; we are all worse off culturally because of that change. We don’t get to hear new music from Linda but we get to read her words. They are as passionate as her voice and she shares the sadness she feels here in the present day.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly an exceptional book, but if you happen to like Linda Ronstadt and have followed her life through the years, it's interesting in supplying a few details about her early life, particularly about her grandfather, who was the real patriarch of the family, a solid Mexican-American businessman in Tucson and also the most dedicated musician of the bunch until Linda came along, although everybody in the family made music.

I lived in Phoenix for just under 30 years and visited Tucson numerous times. I could have found a good life there just as certainly as I did in Phoenix.

The book, a collaboration, consists of reminiscences, pictures, song lyrics, and recipes.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this book❣️ I am a huge fan of Linda’s, for many years, but besides her amazing voice, she has a great sense of humor and a huge heart that really come through in her story telling.
I was so shocked when I found out that Linda is Hispanic/Mexican because when I first heard her sing (in English) her heritage never occurred to me. Then I heard her songs in Spanish and by that time I spoke Spanish and could understand the stories behind the songs. I am not Hispanic but I have been living with the Mexican culture for 44 yrs. now and deeply appreciated reading about Linda’s childhood and family. ❤️

[Rick Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was actually looking for more of Linda Ronstadt's biography when I found this, but it sounded interesting, so, "why not?" While this certainly has some autobiographical information in it, it seems to focus more on Ronstadt's cultural heritage and the cultural history of the swath of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico that were a big part of her ancestry and early life. That probably made it more interesting than it might have been as a typical biography, especially in light of current anti-immigration sentiment at the highest level of our current government. It's a pretty easy, quick read, and well worth the time.

[Lynne]

I know I would have loved to have read further than page 17 of this book, but the publishing choices made it too difficult to go on. This book is HEAVY (weight-wise)...too heavy to comfortably read...having lived in the Tucson area, I was finding it quite interesting....and the recipes and the photos made it doubly so.

It is also oversized and weight over 2 lbs. 7 oz....consider it more of a coffee table book, not a normal biography tome.

I hope the publishers make a decision to soon release the book in paperback on less heavy paper so I can read it. It's headed back to the library...

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I thought the book would be an autobiography, it was more an immersion into Ronstadt's childhood - the influences of her great grandparents, grandparents, parents and siblings, Mexican culture, the music, the food, and the visual images. The book has thick glossy pages with many beautiful photos of the area - the photographer outdid himself! I loved the reminiscences of her time there, both growing up and her visits back. She also chronicles the changes she has seen in the area, most not for the better.

Highly recommended. It was like being invited into her memories.

[Greg Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linda's personal memories of growing up in the desert with a family that enjoyed song, food, and memories together. Interesting history of the Sonora region and how it has changed over time, both good and bad. Revealing look at how people in the area have been treated from the perspective of someone that lived it growing up. You can see how the heart linda brings to her singing comes from growing up in a close-knit extended family.

[Linda Spear · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always listened to Linda Ronstadt and was eager to read this title. Wow, not really a biography but rather a cultural study of family, family history, celebrations, food, and most important to me, she establishes a very clear sense of place. I now feel that I have been in the Sonoran Borderlands of Ronstadt's memories. Graceful, winsome, and moving are just a few of my impressions. I could really hear the love she has for the place that raised her.

[Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a peek into the history of the area and the lineage of Linda's family. I moved to Arizona in 2017 and always appreciate learning about the past. This book is specific to this region and is made even more personal by the recipes and music referenced. The photographs are lovely. The projects featured at the conclusion are a nice way to bring us to present times.

[Becky Bjork · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a Ronstadt fan since the ‘70’s and recently lived in SE AZ for 8 years. So I had a special interest in reading this book and was not disappointed.
I also enjoyed reading the recipes and intend to try some of them. I miss the wonderful foods prepared by our Hispanic friends.
I gave it 4 stars simply because others may not have the same interests and connection.

[Jamesjohn Jamesjohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful and substantial book is about flavor, love, and interconnection. It's centered in the deep history of the Sonoran borderlands, with stories of the deep roots that survive, persist, and thrive. The history and people are intriguing, the recipes tempting and obscure, and harshness underlies it all with stunning beauty.