Crossing the River
A Life in Brazil
by Amy Ragsdale
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Pub Date Oct 27 2015 | Archive Date Oct 27 2015
Perseus Books Group, Seal Press | Seal Press
Description
Overwhelmed with the fast-paced, competitive lifestyle of modern America, Amy Ragsdale moved with her husband, writer Peter Stark, and their two teenage children 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 and kill chickens to the clinical university student, as they became the family’s guides to Brazilian life.
Elegantly written and vibrant in detail, Crossing the River tells a nuanced global story through a personal memoir, examining life without the trappings of modern American culture, and revealing surprising truths about identity, family, and love.
Elegantly written and vibrant in detail, Crossing the River tells a nuanced global story through a personal memoir, examining life without the trappings of modern American culture, and revealing surprising truths about identity, family, and love.
A Note From the Publisher
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.
Amy has taught contemporary dance in Spain, Indonesia, Martinique, Mozambique, and Brazil. She is the founder of Headwaters Dance Co., the recipient of the University of Montana's Distinguished Teaching Award, and a 2009 Governor's Arts Award for the State of Montana.
She is married to writer Peter Stark. They live in Missoula, Montana, with two fabulous children, an imperious cat, and an enthusiastic puppy.
Amy has taught contemporary dance in Spain, Indonesia, Martinique, Mozambique, and Brazil. She is the founder of Headwaters Dance Co., the recipient of the University of Montana's Distinguished Teaching Award, and a 2009 Governor's Arts Award for the State of Montana.
She is married to writer Peter Stark. They live in Missoula, Montana, with two fabulous children, an imperious cat, and an enthusiastic puppy.
Advance Praise
"Dancer and choreographer Amy Ragsdale set off with her
family for a year's adventure in rural Brazil as an antidote to her
overachieving super-mom life. Balance and joy were at the heart of her
quest, and balance and joy are her gifts to us in this keen-eyed,
candid, transformative story. Her journey is a gift to her readers. Her
spirit is a model to follow."
—Annick Smith, author of Homestead
"By means of bravery and an extrasensory ability to let what happens happen, Amy Ragsdale and her family left the ordinariness of American life and moved to small-town, rural Brazil, where magical realism is nonfiction walking up the the street. 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
—Annick Smith, author of Homestead
"By means of bravery and an extrasensory ability to let what happens happen, Amy Ragsdale and her family left the ordinariness of American life and moved to small-town, rural Brazil, where magical realism is nonfiction walking up the the street. 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
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781580055864 |
| PRICE | $16.00 (USD) |
