[2] Her most notable contribution was her book related to the Mountain Meadows Massacre, to which her grandfather Dudley Leavitt was sometimes linked, and which caused tension between her and the church authorities.

She also made significant archival contributions in the form of collected pioneer diaries documenting early Mormon history in the Dixie, Utah area.

From a young age she developed an interest in history when, "her brilliant, sensitive, and imaginative mind was saturated from childhood in Mormon lore.

Her first published work was a poem titled "Sunrise from the Top of Mount Timp," which appeared in the LDS periodical Improvement Era in 1926.

[6][7] After her bachelors degree, she settled in St. George, Utah, and became an instructor of English and Dean of Women from 1925–1933 at the LDS-backed Dixie Junior College.

Despite her feelings of loyalty to and love for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brooks anticipated excommunication upon the publication of The Mountain Meadows Massacre book.

"[17] Brooks has often been compared to Fawn Brodie,[6] another Mormon historian who wrote No Man Knows My History, a similarly notorious biography of Joseph Smith.

[19] Brooks was known as a very humble woman, who, in spite of her numerous recognitions, awards, honors, and academic postings, downplayed her intelligence and achievements.

In honor of Juanita Brooks, a scholarship endowment was established at Utah Tech University, formerly Dixie State College,[21] as well as an annual lecture series.

In 1934, while Anderson was on the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, he facilitated Brooks' assignment to start and manage a branch of the Emergency Relief Administration in southern Utah.

[24] Per the encouragement of Dale Morgan, Brooks' colleague in the Works Project Administration, Juanita began writing her autobiography, Quicksand and Cactus in which she describes her childhood and early adulthood through a mix of first and third point narrative.

She began the manuscript in 1944 and attempted to get published multiple times through 1949 before temporarily abandoning the project to focus on the publication of The Mountain Meadows Massacre.

The next five years were painstaking to finish the book as Brooks found it challenging to stick to it for long periods of time, and her memory began to falter in regards to her first marriage and early widowhood.

McMurrin pieced together chapters and ideas, but due to a lack of dates and unity in style and themes and despite her best efforts, she deemed the work unfit to publish.

Howe consulted McMurrin, studied Juanita's correspondence with Morgan, and evaluated consistencies among the paper and typewriters used by Brooks to logically order chapters for its final publication.

[2] Brooks' notable books on Mormon history include The Mountain Meadows Massacre (1950) and John D. Lee: Zealot, Pioneer Builder, Scapegoat (1961).

[2] While living near the area in Southern Utah where the massacre occurred, Brooks investigated the events thoroughly but found no evidence of direct involvement by Brigham Young.