Ruth Behar was born in Havana, Cuba and is an anthropology professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Her acclaimed humanistic ethnographies include Translated Woman: Crossing the Border with Esperanza’s Story, The Vulnerable Observer: Anthropology That Breaks Your Heart, An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba, and Traveling Heavy: A Memoir in between Journeys.
She is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Also a creative writer, she is the author of a novel for young readers, Lucky Broken Girl, which won the 2018 Pura Belpré Author Award, and Everything I Kept/Todo lo que guardé, a bilingual collection of poetry. The shiFt she’d like to make happen is for all of us to find pleasure, meaning, and hope in the work we do.