Amy Ragsdale discusses "Crossing the River: A Life in Brazil"

“The details of this book--eight-foot-long fish whose scales are used as fingernail files, a hotel called Hotel God Gave Me--will rock you, and the story of what the family went through is powerfully moving. An exciting and revelatory book, a delight to read.”--Ian Frazier, bestselling author of Travels in Siberia

Overwhelmed with her fast-paced, competitive lifestyle, Amy Ragsdale moved with her husband, writer Peter Stark, and their two teenage children from the US to a small town in northeastern Brazil, where she hoped they would learn the value of a slower life. In this culturally rich and economically poor region, Amy and her family learn to fundamentally connect with their neighbors across language and customs. In the year they spend there, Amy grows close to her new neighbors, from the men who cut sugar cane to the clinical university students, as they became the family’s guides to Brazilian life.

Elegantly written and vibrant in detail, Crossing the River tells a global story through a personal memoir, examining life without the trappings of modern American culture, and revealing surprising truths about identity, family, and love."

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Amy Ragsdale is a writer and choreographer who was raised in Madison, Wisconsin, Asia, and North Africa. She earned a BA in art history from Harvard College and an MALS from Wesleyan. Her articles on travel and dance have appeared in High Desert Journal, Mamalode, and Outside Magazine Online, where she initiated the column “Raising Rippers.”