About
Author of the coming-of-age literary memoir THE RIVER'S DAUGHTER (published 6.3.25, Spiegel & Grau), Bridget Crocker is a leading whitewater explorer and river guide, who writes adventure memoir for life travelers forging new directions in their relationships and lives. Crocker's writing transports readers to far-flung locations filled with multi-faceted characters overcoming incredible adversity. A trauma survivor, Crocker explores themes of recovery and overcoming multi-generational cycles as well as sexism and racism in the outdoor industry. In her work as an author, speaker and leader of women's empowerment river workshops, Crocker helps others strengthen their connection with the natural world through intuition and find the courage to navigate harrowing obstacles both on and off the river. Crocker’s adventure travel background combined with formal studies in Anthropology and Native American Studies have shaped her ability to integrate the natural and cultural spirit of varying landscapes into her writing. She also holds a degree in English Literature from Montana State University and is an alum of Book Passage Travel Writing and Photography Conference. She is a contributing author to Lonely Planet guidebooks and Travel Anthology and The Best Women’s Travel Writing series from Travelers’ Tales. Her work has been featured in magazines including Westways, Men’s Journal, National Geographic Adventure, Trail Runner, Paddler, Outside and People among others. Crocker also writes for the outdoor clothing company, Patagonia.
Featured Work
The River's Daughter
After Bridget Crocker’s parents’ volatile divorce, she moved with her mother from Southern California to Wyoming. Her life was idyllic, living in a trailer park on the banks of the Snake River with a stepfather she loved, a new baby brother, and the river as her companion—until her mother suddenly took up a radical new lifestyle, becoming someone Bridget barely recognized. The one constant in her life—the place Bridget felt whole and fully herself—was the river. When she discovered the world of whitewater rafting, she knew she’d found her calling.
On the river, Bridget learned to read the natural world around her and came to know the language of rivers. One of the few female guides on the Snake River, she then traveled to the Zambezi River in Africa, the most dangerous whitewater in the world, where she faced death and learned to conquer her fears—both on the water and off. The river taught her to overcome years of betrayals and abuse, to trust herself, and, finally, how to help heal her family from generational cycles of poverty and abuse.
A beautifully rendered memoir of a woman coming into her own, The River’s Daughter opens us to the possibilities of transformation through nature.
