Ruth is Writer-in-Residence at Riverlight Wellness Center where she teaches and mentors the art of nonfiction and lifestory writing. She provides workshops, nationally and internationally, about healing from trauma and grief using creative processes. Her memoir, Those Who Remain: Remembrance and Reunion After War, was presented to President Obama at the White House on Memorial Day, 2014.
She received an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Bennington College, a PhD in Nutrition and Human Development from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Education from Tufts University. She is also a Registered Dietitian.
Ruth's work in health care focused on the family treatment of children with eating disorders and obesity at Boston Children?s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. She also owned an operated a Skilled Nursing Facility and is well-versed in the needs of the aging and their families.
She is the author of more than thirty publications related to remembrance, health, grief, and recovery from trauma. Her award winning essays and magazine articles have been listed in Best American Essays and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her memoir, Those Who Remain: Remembrance and Reunion After War, published in 2014, describes her recovery from the death of her husband, Capt. David R. Crocker, Jr., in Vietnam. Her most recent book, People of Yellowstone, illustrates the transformative impact of natural environments on our sense of wellness.
Ruth lives in Mystic, Connecticut, and is the proud mother of television, film and theater actor, Noah Bean.