memoir - TBD Teacher

Bridget Crocker’s Memoir ‘The River’s Daughter’

06.28.2025 by Judi Holst // Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to guide a whitewater rafting trip on the Zambezi River? Reading Bridget Crocker’s memoir, The River’s Daughter, is like floating down the water on an adventurous ride.

Cover of the memoir 'The River's Daughter' by Bridget Crocker, featuring an aerial view of a wooden raft on dark blue water.

4/5 stars ★★★★☆

To read more about her story: https://amzn.to/46iSSaI

Published on: June 3rd, 2025

From The Publisher:

“A vivid and propulsive memoir about finding courage and meaning in a life outdoors, by a world-class whitewater rafting guide.“

What I Liked About The River’s Daughter:

If you know me personally, you know how much I love rafting on rivers. This was the perfect read while sitting next to the Flathead River in Montana. Crocker was able to take me on all of her adventures, and I felt like I was rafting down the whitewaters of The Kern, The Snake, and The Zambezi River.

A close-up of Bridget Crocker holding a paddle, wearing a life jacket, with a river and trees in the background. This is from the book The River's Daughter.

Crocker does a wonderful job of leading us through her tumultuous childhood. Her past showed how she became such a strong, independent woman and a world-class rafting guide. She grew up along the Snake River, close to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She wasn’t the one wearing the expensive clothing or driving the expensive cars. She didn’t live in the perfect family home. However, Crocker didn’t let this stop her from achieving her goals.

Although this is her memoir, the details and story line read almost like fiction. I was absorbed in her words. I could picture the interesting people she met along the way: the loves gained, the lives lost, and the family that sometimes stood in her way. I’m sure this wasn’t an easy story to write.

This story makes me want to go whitewater rafting tomorrow! This is definitely worth the read.

Quotes From The River’s Daughter That I Related To:

** “I felt the boat shift from the downstream current into the calm eddy water near the shore and nearly collapsed with relief.”

** “The Snake had touched me, and in some way, I now belonged to the river.”

These quotes hit me personally. Although I have done whitewater river rafting in Colorado a few times (and fell out of the boat trying to help someone that fell in), my first river trip alone in our pontoon rafts was also on the Snake River in Idaho. I was terrified, and the cfs was at 13,000. When we hit the eddy at the pull-out, I actually cried with relief. It wasn’t a great idea to start on this river for my first time, but I’m so glad I did it. Crocker’s sentence brought back that feeling of relief after trying something scary for the first time.

What is something that you have done that made you collapse with relief?

** “…part of living is being willing to embrace adventure, whether it’s a river trip or improving connections with loved ones, even when it’s hard.”

My husband always says, “You aren’t living unless you are close to death.” Okay, I like Crocker’s quote better. I like the idea of embracing adventure much more. Ha.

** “…want them to learn from rivers – as I did – to be relentless in finding their own line, and, when they flip, not just to survive but to recover strong.”

This quote seems to sum up Crocker’s life. She was relentless, and when she encountered difficult situations, she did what she needed to in order to recover even stronger.

Extras:

You can buy The River’s Daughter at: https://amzn.to/3TNmIN3

*If you want to read more of my book reviews, you can find them at: https://judiholst.com/book-reviews/

*If you missed my post about my Top Books of 2024, you can find it at: https://judiholst.com/top-20-books-that-i-loved-in-2024/

If you loved this memoir, and you are looking for more memoirs to read, here are some suggestions:

This American Woman: A One-in-a-Billion Memoir by Zarna Garg
- My review for the book: https://judiholst.com/discover-zarna-gargs-inspiring-journey-in-this-american-woman/
- You can buy it at: https://amzn.to/3Gc0IIL
Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show by Bethany Joy Lenz
- My review for the book: https://judiholst.com/captivating-memoir-dinner-for-vampires-by-bethany-joy-lenz-book-review/
- You can buy it at: https://amzn.to/3GlDIXK
Killer Story – The Truth Behind True Crime Televsion by Claire St. Amant
- My review for the book: https://judiholst.com/killer-story-by-claire-st-amant-the-truth-behind-true-crime-television/
- You can buy it at: https://amzn.to/4kuTLBS

What is your favorite memoir? I’m always looking for a good one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Spiegel & Grau, and Bridget Crocker for sharing this book with me. This is my honest opinion.

Discover Zarna Garg’s Inspiring Journey in ‘This American Woman’

06.09.2025 by Judi Holst // 2 Comments

Zarna’s Garg’s, This American Woman, is entertaining, hopeful, and humorous. I don’t read a lot of memoirs, but this one pulled me right in.

Book cover of 'This American Woman' by Zarna Garg, featuring a colorful design with Zarna wearing traditional clothing and being playfully supported by the Statue of Liberty against a skyline backdrop.

Read about it and buy it at: https://amzn.to/4kWvN1D

4/5 stars ★★★★☆

Published: April 29th, 2025

From The Publisher:

“NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Award-winning comedian Zarna Garg turns her astonishing life story into a hilarious memoir, spilling all the chai on her wild ride from escaping an arranged marriage and homelessness in India to carving her own path in America and launching a dazzling second act in midlife.“

What I Liked About This American Woman:

I was most interested about Zarna’s life in India. I love reading about other cultures and seeing how people grew up differently than me. Zarna’s teenage years weren’t easy, and it couldn’t have been more different the ones I experienced. She experienced homelessness, a strict father, and the fear of being in an arranged marriage.

Zarna is truly inspirational. Her story shows that true grit, humor, and a lot of hard work will take you places in life. It’s strange how life took into the path of becoming a comedian.

I love watching her YouTube and Tik Tok videos now. I had never heard of her until I read her book, but now I am a big fan. I love seeing her comedy shows, especially the ones she included in her book. I hope this book has a lot of success because Zarna deserves it.

Extras:

If you are interested in seeing some of Zarna’s comedic acts, check out these links:

*If you want to read more of my book reviews, you can find them at: https://judiholst.com/book-reviews/

*If you missed my post about my Top Books of 2024, you can find it at: https://judiholst.com/top-20-books-that-i-loved-in-2024/

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Zarna Garg for sharing a free copy of this book with me. This is my honest opinion.

Killer Story by Claire St. Amant – The Truth Behind True Crime Television

03.06.2025 by Judi Holst // Leave a Comment

“The devil you can’t see is always more menacing than someone right in front of you.” Can you imagine sitting across the table from a serial killer to get a story? Are you a true crime television or podcast junkie? Killer Story by Claire St. Amant is a memoir about pulling back the curtain and showing her readers what it takes to put on a one-hour episode of true-crime television.

4/5 stars ★★★★☆

https://amzn.to/4kuTLBS

Did you notice that cover? Wow, I absolutely love how the remote is part of the knife. Very creative!

About Killer Story:

Killer Story is a memoir about Claire St. Amant’s successes and failures. It highlights her experiences while breaking into the fast-paced world of true crime television as a journalist and producer. Claire helped to produce famous episodes about murderers and serial killers on both 48 Hours and 60 Minutes.

This book is definitely an insider’s view of what it takes to bring these episodes to television. She discusses the different cases and what it was like to interview some of the most well-known killers in the United States. She also showed how difficult it is to be a journalist. Traveling at a moment’s notice is hard while being married and a new parent. Interviewing the victim’s families, pressures of a deadline, and living in the world of murders daily can be taxing. It takes an emotional toll on one’s feelings and relationships.

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/JklFAN7776667765433

Later, Claire decides to have her own podcast show called, “Final Days on Earth.” Have you listened to it?

My Thoughts on Killer Story:

After reading Killer Story, I definitely have a new appreciation for true crime shows. I’ll never watch a true crime show the same way again. I felt like I was alongside Claire as she navigated the complex and often sensitive interactions with victims’ families and incarcerated individuals. I loved reading about her experiences with Thomas Michael Dixon, a surgeon-turned-murderer suspect, and Stuart Little, a serial killer.

My favorite part of the book was the behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to get a one-hour episode onto our television screens. I also loved reading about her rookie mistakes. Wardrobe mistakes, traveling mistakes, these are all things in which we can relate.

I appreciated how real St. Amant was in her telling of how far she’d go to get the story. Some reviewers put her down for her tenacity and confidence. St. Amant doesn’t shy away from depicting the less glamorous aspects of investigative journalism. She includes the difficult choices and ethical gray areas that often arise. These even included going against the wishes of her bosses. Although sometimes what she did wasn’t exactly right or lawful, at least she was honest about it. I found this refreshing. I don’t condone it, but in a world of journalism, the nice guy finishes last. St. Amant made this very clear as she worked her way to producer.

I also like how she provided footnotes at the end of each chapter, along with photographs along the way. The book took me longer to read because I wanted to watch the episode that she was discussing or read about it on the internet. (Kindle hint: If you can’t access video on your Kindle, go to your Kindle app on your phone and click on the link that way.). I kept hoping that no one was following my Google search, since I was researching the different murderers. Tonight I will be watching the 60 Minutes episode titled, “The Ranger and the Serial Killer.”

I gave this book four out of five stars. It was a unique memoir that I will think about each time I watch a true crime show.

You can buy this book at: https://amzn.to/4kuTLBS

What is YOUR favorite true crime television show?

Extras:

If you enjoy this memoir, here are some other memoirs that I recommend. The first two have to do with crime. The third one is my favorite memoir of all time.

The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida and Felony by Annabelle Tometich – https://amzn.to/4h7CYBL
The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin – https://amzn.to/4ktC6KI
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden – https://amzn.to/4bzWPIH

*If you want to read more of my book reviews, you can find them at: https://judiholst.com/book-reviews/

*If you missed my post about my Top Books of 2024, you can find it at: https://judiholst.com/top-20-books-that-i-loved-in-2024/

Thank you to NetGalley, Claire St. Amant, and BenBella Books for my free copy of this book. This is my honest review.