Year of Award
2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Science (MS)
Degree Name
Environmental Studies
Other Degree Name/Area of Focus
Environmental Writing
Department or School/College
Environmental Studies
Committee Chair
Mark Sundeen
Commitee Members
Robert Stubblefield, Rosalyn LaPier
Keywords
Memoir, Kern River, Bakersfield
Publisher
University of Montana
Subject Categories
Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing | Nonfiction
Abstract
Lia Mendez grew up on the frontlines of America's breadbasket in the great Central Valley of California where Big Ag and Big Oil reign supreme. When Lia returns home after a long absence and joins local activists in her hometown's fight to reclaim its dying river from agribusiness, she discovers that the land holds secrets whose truths have been long hidden in plain sight. As Lia's love and concern deepen for the very place she promised herself she'd never wind up in, so, too, does her understanding deepen of the systems of oppression and extraction which rule her world. In this memoir, Lia Mendez struggles to define her role not just as an activist, but as a wife and daughter with close ties to the very extractive industries whose practices she challenges.
Recommended Citation
Mendez, Lia R., "NO DIVING FROM BRIDGE" (2022). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 11975.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/11975
Included in
© Copyright 2022 Lia R. Mendez