Brenda Anderson was the sixth of eleven children born to Jim and Judi Baggiore. She grew up in a rural area on the western edge of Phoenix, Arizona, along with a few cows, some horses, and an occasional chicken. She enjoyed catching crawdads in the irrigation canals, playing games in the empty fields near her home, and collecting cicada skins in the summer.

In high school, Brenda met Matt Anderson, who shared her loves for hiking and writing. Four years later, Brenda left for Utah to fulfill her dream of attending Brigham Young University. However, her love for Matt and her hatred of snow brought her back to Arizona. She married Matt and started the wild adventure of being a family.

Six kids and fourteen years later, Brenda achieved her dream of graduating from Brigham Young University by completing BYU's Bachelor of General Studies program with an emphasis in writing.