‘The River’s Daughter’: A river guided her, and as a whitewater rafting guide, she steered thousands through rivers’ delights and dangers worldwide
It’s a story of survival. It’s a story of healing. It’s a story of triumph penned by Malibu’s Bridget Crocker, whose debut nonfiction book, “The River’s Daughter,” has exploded in popularity because its rawness and relatability addressing intergenerational trauma and the healing power of nature speak to many. Intriguingly, Crocker’s memoir is niched in the adventure travel genre by the publishing industry, a genre where few women authors venture. Since its release in early June, the book has garnered critical acclaim and accolades because, as it speaks truth to power and confronts intergenerational trauma, it empowers others who yearn to find peace with and express their truth.
Crocker grew up in poverty in a trailer park along the Snake River in Wyoming. She was a child of divorce, dysfunction, and disruption — a child who found solace, validation, and comfort when communing with the river. The river spoke to Crocker as it guided and supported her through a traumatic childhood and a turbulent adolescence full of sexual and physical abuse, angst, and betrayals. In turn, Crocker became a river guide, steering thousands of whitewater rafters as they experienced the exuberance, exhilaration, and exhaustion inherent in rafting rivers with treacherous rapids.
One of the few river guides on the Snake River decades ago, Crocker segued to serving as a guide on Africa’s famously dangerous Zambezi River. Thus, her coming-of-age story is infused with cross-cultural nuances regarding the role and power of women in society as she reveals how she empowered herself and some family members to understand and overcome intergenerational cycles of trauma.
“I met Bridget when she joined my writer’s group, the Malibu Writers Circle, a few years back,” Malibu author Robert Kerbeck shared. “I read an early version of ‘The River’s Daughter’ and right away, I knew that not only would her book get published, but that it would be a huge success.”
Writing The River’s Daughter was a process — it took Crocker more than two decades. In the process of honing her creative process, Crocker began to process her past. Crocker notes that she restructured her book four times, striving to be true to the story and vividly portray the cycles of abuse she and her family dealt with while also sharing how the power of intuition has empowered her.
Crocker states that the support that she received from the Malibu Writer’s Club was pivotal in bringing the book to scale.
“Bridget worked incredibly hard within the group to develop and refine the book, never shying away from those sometimes tough notes we gave her. I’m so proud to have played a small part in editing and developing such an inspirational memoir.” Kerbeck shared. “Bridget is like a sister to me!”
“The River’s Daughter,” published by Spiegel & Grau, has skyrocketed into the world of critics’ reviews and onto the recommended reading lists of a plethora of book clubs. Crocker is enjoying a whirlwind 23-stop book tour, visiting many venues throughout America where she encounters fans seeking to discuss how much the work means to them.
The Malibu Times caught up with Crocker on a sunny morning at the Point Dume Village.
“What happened to Justin?” this writer queried, referring to Crocker’s loyal childhood friend who accompanied her on many of her visits to the Snake River.
“I don’t know — I’ve tried to reach out on social media, but I haven’t connected with him,” she responded.
What followed was an invigorating conversation about why Crocker chose to write about her family’s intergenerational trauma.
“I didn’t want to write a revenge memoir — that was not my intention,” Crocker explained. “I really want to use my story to communicate how to trust one’s instincts and one’s true nature. One must do that and thereby empower herself before she can engage with other family members about intergenerational trauma.”
Crocker discusses how she and some family members addressed such cyclical trauma and empowered one another as they strived to transform.
“My Dad had the biggest trajectory in life with regard to striving to become the best version of himself,” Crocker shared. “He’s a great inspiration to me as he was not afraid of doing the hard work involved in admitting his mistakes and changing unhealthy patterns. His is a story involving a lot of courage, strength and willingness to change.”
“The River’s Daughter” is brilliantly penned because it empowers readers to vicariously confront such trauma even as it thrusts them within compelling situations wherein Crocker, guided by the river, bravely guided whitewater rafters — and herself — through perilous river rapids. Crocker’s vivid descriptions of such scenes are so riveting that readers feel personally involved in the harrowing experiences. The scenes about rafting the Zambezi River’s class 5 rapids compellingly come to life for readers who feel immersed within the perilous river rafting journey and gain insights into the intriguing culture of East Africa in the 1980s, a culture that the young Crocker struggled to comprehend and highly honored throughout her time there.
Will eager reading fans and Malibuites hear more from Crocker soon? Indeed! She is well on her way to writing two more books and envisions a trilogy recounting her life’s experiences and possibly a film. She also welcomes readers to one of her Adventure Women’s Retreats and looks forward to serving as faculty for the Jackson Hole Writer’s gathering in October. In doing so she comes full circle — immersing herself within her hometown in a literary world that has empowered her to face the world of trauma she experienced there and comforted in knowing that her own personal transformation is helping to empower the healing transformation of many.