Across the Wide River: A Novel

The red brick home of Rev. John Rankin is a beacon—the first northern stop on the Underground Railroad. Across the Ohio River in Kentucky, every slave knows to look for it. They have heard that if they reach that house, they will never be captured. Across the Wide River tells the true story of the selfless sacrifices one Christian family made to help runaway slaves reach freedom.

During her childhood, Stephanie Reed's family would often pass through Ripley on their way to her grandparents' home. The signs she read there about the Rankin house were what prompted her to write this story. After working for nearly a decade with the Dayton Metro Library, Stephanie is currently a volunteer spotter for the National Weather Service. She lives with her husband and two children in Dublin, Ohio.