The River’s Daughter
Published on: June 3, 2025
The River’s Daughter by Bridget Crocker is a memoir that reads like a fast-moving river, raw, exhilarating, and deeply reflective. It tells the story of a woman who finds her identity and healing in the wild waters that shaped her life.
Bridget’s childhood takes her from Southern California to the banks of the Snake River in Wyoming, where she grows up with a loving stepfather, a new baby brother, and the river as her closest companion. But when her mother suddenly adopts a radical new lifestyle, everything shifts. What remains constant for Bridget is the river, the one place where she feels grounded and truly herself.
Through whitewater rafting, she discovers her passion and purpose. As one of the few female guides on the Snake River, and later navigating the dangerous waters of Africa’s Zambezi River, Bridget battles not only physical threats like crocodiles and roaring rapids but also the emotional weight of betrayal, trauma, and the long shadow of her past. Her journey becomes one of self-discovery and resilience, as she learns to trust herself, face her fears, and begin the work of healing generational wounds.
This memoir blends adventure with deep emotional truth, capturing what it means to find strength in nature and in oneself. Bridget Crocker’s storytelling is vivid and gripping, pulling you into every paddle stroke and personal reckoning. The River’s Daughter is a beautiful and inspiring read for anyone drawn to powerful stories of survival, transformation, and the wild freedom of water.
About the Author
Bridget Crocker
Bridget Crocker is an adventurer at heart, a writer whose life and stories are deeply entwined with the rhythms of wild rivers and distant landscapes. With a background as a whitewater explorer and river guide, she brings raw, lived experience to her adventure memoirs. Her narratives invite readers into transformative journeys shaped by challenge, resilience, and healing.
Crocker’s work often explores what it means to recover and rebuild. As a trauma survivor, she writes candidly about overcoming personal adversity and breaking multi-generational cycles. Her voice also speaks powerfully to systemic issues such as sexism and racism within the outdoor industry. Beyond the page, she leads women’s empowerment river workshops, where she helps others build confidence, connect with nature, and navigate the currents of life in both physical and emotional landscapes.
Her writing is grounded in both exploration and academic study. She studied Anthropology and Native American Studies and earned a degree in English Literature from Montana State University, Bozeman. She further honed her craft at the Book Passage Travel Writing and Photography Conference and the Livingston Writer’s Workshop. Her work has appeared in respected publications such as Westways, Men’s Journal, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Trail Runner, Paddler, and Vela. She also spent nineteen years as a writer for the outdoor brand Patagonia.
Bridget contributes to Lonely Planet guidebooks, the Travel Anthology, and The Best Women’s Travel Writing series published by Travelers’ Tales.
Her relationship with rivers began early. Raised along the Snake River in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, she started guiding there as a young woman. Since then, she has led expeditions through remote and legendary river canyons in Zambia, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, India, and throughout the Western United States.
In all her work, whether on the river or on the page, Bridget Crocker offers more than adventure stories. She shares deeply human experiences of growth, courage, and connection with the natural world.
| Book Title | The River’s Daughter |
|---|---|
| Author | Bridget Crocker |
| ISBN | 9781954118546 |
| Book Language | English |
| Book Format | Ebook, Paperback, Hardcover |
| Date Published | June 3, 2025 |
| Publisher | Spiegel & Grau |
| Awards | None |
| Pages | 358 |
| Tags | Adventure Memoir Nature |
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