Wisdom flows from every page of The Power of the River. With reverent precision and vivid prose, Ed Taylor takes you up peaks of joy and through valleys of struggle with eyes so clear and open, you'll be grateful for every step. - Mónica Guzmán, Author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times

When this book came into my hands, it held me for the better part of a day. Unsettling and uplifting at once, its cadence is almost musical in the way it carries you forward. The river that moves through these pages feels like the current of the author's lifeblood - intimate, searching, alive. An elegant and soulful work, and a journey I'm grateful to have taken. - Dr. Constance Rice, President, Very Strategic, University of Washington Board of Regents (Emerita)

Ed Taylor knows the power of story, that each of our lives are storied, that we are all woven and interwoven into many stories, and that our lives depend on knowing a true story of who we are. In this river of stories, he refuses to choose between integrity and belonging, claiming both as he rides the rapids of love, loss, limits, learning, and leadership. If you are a human being open to ongoing becoming, and especially if you may also be a student, parent, spouse, educator, administrator, citizen, or athlete-this book is a gift to us all. - Sharon Daloz Parks, co-author, Common Fire: Leading Lives of Commitment in a Complex World

Ed Taylor invites readers to accompany him on his path to adulthood. His is a journey shaped by several unexpected guides and teachers who entered his life in key moments; the unstinting love of a fierce, indomitable, and gracious mother; and the racism experienced by Black children growing up in the third quarter of the 20th century. - Ginny Gilder, Olympic medalist, CEO, and co-owner of the Seattle Storm

Whether you are a first-generation college student or an Ivy League legacy CEO of a major corporation, male, female, White, Black or Brown, there are lessons for you in this beautifully written tale of "Eddie" Taylor's coming of age, status, and power. Defying a range of stereotypes, as well as substantial societal and familial barriers and hardships, Eddie never quits on himself or on his community, showing kindness and compassion not only to those who supported him, but to those who stood in his way. Told with humor, wit, and wisdom, his story of achievement, not for its own sake, but to lift up others, is just the story we need in this time of strife and division. - Ana Mari Cauce, Professor of Psychology, President Emeritus, University of Washington