Ruth W Crocker

Writer

I’m interested in both fiction and nonfiction writing, especially delving into women’s lives and the extraordinary ways we cope with trauma and grief. I began my professional life after receiving a PhD in Clinical Nutrition and Human development, working in hospitals and clinics with adults and children with eating disorders and psychosomatic illnesses. I managed the stresses of this work by journaling and writing plays, stories, and essays in my spare time. The transition to full-time writing happened after I retired from health administration in 2006 and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Bennington College. The philosophy at Bennington is: “Read one hundred books – write one.”

My essays have appeared in The Gettysburg Review, Grace Magazine, O-Dark-Thirty, T.A.P.S. Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, several trade magazines and anthologies. Along the way, I’ve been blessed with recognition including a notable essay in Best American Essays, a Pushcart Prize nomination and First Prize for an essay in the Saturday Evening Post. My memoir, Those Who Remain: Remembrance and Reunion After War, received the Benjamin Franklin Award and a Silver Medal from the Military Writers Society of America. People of Yellowstone, written in collaboration with photographer Steve Horan, received Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award in 2017. I enjoy living and writing in Mystic, CT – even during our New England winters. I appreciate the support and encouragement provided by my writing group. There’s nothing better than being surrounded by a group of smart women writers trying to get the words right.

Visit my website at: www.ruthwcrocker.com where I offer an occasional blog about the process of writing, and wonder about the rest of the world.