A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, The Dark Path to the River tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa.

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, short story writer and journalist whose works of fiction include No Marble Angels and The Dark Path to the River. She has published stories, essays and articles in books, magazines, and newspapers, including Short Stories of The Civil Rights Movement, Remembering Arthur Miller, Snakes: An Anthology of Serpent Tales, Beyond Literacy. She is a Vice President Emeritus of PEN International and the former International Secretary of PEN International and served as Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee and President of PEN USA. She serves on the boards of Poets and Writers, the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, the American Writers Museum, the International Center for Journalists, Words Without Borders, and Refugees International. She has served on the board and as Vice President of PEN American Center, the International Crisis Group and Save the Children. She is an Emeritus Trustee of Brown University and Johns Hopkins University, where she chaired the Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins University Press. A former reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, she has covered national and international issues and won awards for her writing. She has taught writing at New York University, City University of New York, Occidental College and UCLA Extension. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Texas Institute of Letters.

The Dark Path to the River is a love story, one of strong-minded women and men who do not see the world the same. It is a story of power and politics on Wall Street and in Africa. It is also the story of two women, friends and journalists, one black and one white, of their search for empowerment and of the men who both shape and are shaped by their worlds.

Author of No marble angels, The dark path to the river.

https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL1074766A/Joanne_Leedom-Ackerman

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, short story writer, and journalist whose works of fiction include The Dark Path to the River and No Marble Angels. A former reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, Joanne is a Vice President and former International Secretary of PEN International and former Chair of PEN International's Writers in Prison Committee. She serves on the boards of the International Crisis Group, Refugees International, the International Center for Journalists, the PEN Faulkner Foundation, Poets and Writers, Words Without Borders, and the American Writers Museum. She has served on the board and as Vice President of PEN American Center, Save the Children and is an emeritus board member of Human Rights Watch and an emeritus Trustee of Johns Hopkins and Brown Universities. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Texas Institute of Letters.

Nine stories deal with individuals trying to overcome the distances that divide them.

As a fearless poet and prolific essayist and critic, Liu Xiaobo became one of the most important dissident thinkers in the People’s Republic of China. His nonviolent activism steered the nation’s prodemocracy currents from Tiananmen Square to support for Tibet and beyond. Liu undertook perhaps his bravest act when he helped draft and gather support for Charter 08, a democratic vision for China that included free elections and the end of the Communist Party’s monopoly on power. While imprisoned for “inciting subversion of state power,” Liu won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. He was granted medical parole just weeks before dying of cancer in 2017.

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it's an important medium for the world?
Writing is one important way I engage with the world, with my own thoughts and with the the ideas of others.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer's block?
I don’t mean to be glib, but I don’t remember having writers block but perhaps because if I can’t see my way clear on what I’m writing at the moment, I start writing something else. My best advice is to  write, write anything, just get the words flowing.

As a fearless poet and prolific essayist and critic, Liu Xiaobo became one of the most important dissident thinkers in the People's Republic of China. His nonviolent activism steered the nation's prodemocracy currents from Tiananmen Square to support for Tibet and beyond. Liu undertook perhaps his bravest act when he helped draft and gather support for Charter 08, a democratic vision for China that included free elections and the end of the Communist Party's monopoly on power. While imprisoned for "inciting subversion of state power," Liu won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. He was granted medical parole just weeks before dying of cancer in 2017.

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman (C’68) is a novelist, short story writer, and journalist. Her works of fiction include The Dark Path to the River and No Marble Angels. Her short fiction and essays appear in a variety of books and anthologies.

A reporter for The Christian Science Monitor early in her career, Leedom-Ackerman has won awards for her nonfiction and published hundreds of articles in newspapers and magazines, ranging from World Literature Today to the Los Angeles Times.

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, short story writer, and journalist. Her works of fiction include The Dark Path to the River and No Marble Angels. She has also published fiction and essays in books and anthologies, including Short Stories of the Civil Rights Movement; Remembering Arthur Miller; Electric Grace; Snakes: An Anthology of Serpent Tales; Beyond Literacy; Women For All Seasons; Fiction and Poetry by Texas Women; The Bicentennial Collection of Texas Short Stories; What You Can Do.

As a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor early in her career, Joanne won awards for her nonfiction and has published hundreds of articles in newspapers and magazines. She has taught writing at New York University, City University of New York, Occidental College, and the University of California at Los Angeles extension. She holds a Master of Arts degree from both Brown University and Johns Hopkins University, and graduated cum laude from Principia College.

In 2009 the Chinese government put Liu Xiaobo, a celebrated poet, essayist, critic, activist, and thinker, into a cage. He was labeled as "an enemy of the state," charged with "inciting subversion of state power," and sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment. His insistence on individual liberty in his own 1000+ essays and 18 books, his relentless pursuit of ideas, and his last statement to the Chinese court: "I have no enemies, no hatred," had threatened the Chinese Communist Party and government in a way few other citizens had. The Journey of Liu Xiaobo explores, analyzes, and celebrates the life and legacy of Liu Xiaobo. The book presents a unique portrait of Liu Xiaobo from many who knew him during his life, from childhood to his final days. This collection of over eighty short essays and reflections are likely the largest gathering of writers from the Chinese Democracy Movement in one volume, and contribute basic texts to understanding the man who has been compared to Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel, and Aung San Sui Kyi in his importance to the development and progress of China toward a free society.