Running Uphill emerged from the memories of a woman brought up on the shirttails of the Depression and World War II, that time of great change for women who left jobs as domestics, secretaries, and teachers to move into war production jobs while the men were conscripted into military service. Cultural changes flowed from historical events, and women were cutting their apron strings. But despite this change, women still needed Gloria Steinem and MS. magazine to launch careers in what remained a man's world.

Using memoir techniques of storytelling, Childs delves into her story of becoming a theater artist, joining friends to start a nonprofit theater company in 1985, naming it the Lyric Theater. The mission of the Lyric entailed making music integral to stage productions, which led to stage adaptations of work by several Minnesota poets. When the Lyric began producing scripts by well-known Minnesota author Jon Hassler, it settled into an uphill climb. In 2000, the Lyric transitioned into the Jon Hassler Theater and moved to Plainview, Minnesota, Jon Hassler's boyhood home.