From Barefoot Girl to Business Owner: Geraldine Rivera Tells Her Story of Survival and Faith in Bare Feet

EASTON, Pa. – November 11, 2026 – Author Geraldine Rivera has released Bare Feet: From Girl to Woman: With Courage, Strength, & Determination, She Overcame Adversity, a memoir of poverty, loss, entrepreneurship and immigration. The book is available in ebook, paperback and hardcover, along with a Spanish-language edition, Pies Descalzos.

Rivera was one of fourteen children in a village outside San José, Costa Rica, with no roads, electricity or drinking water. At nine, she was washing another family’s laundry in a mountain river. At eleven, she said goodbye to the teacher who had taught her to read, packed her few belongings into a rope bag, and took the last bus of the day to the capital to work as a live-in housekeeper and nanny. Her childhood was also marked by the loss of her older brother, a tragedy her family carried for the rest of their lives.

As a young single mother with almost no savings, Rivera opened a small fast-food restaurant steps from the University of Costa Rica, using equipment donated by a landlord who believed in her. It became a gathering place for students and professors, and she eventually ran three businesses. She then sold everything to give her teenage daughter the time she needed. In the United States, she started over with little more than a suitcase. She walked to a fast-food job through her first winter, launched a transportation service from her cell phone, and later helped raise her three grandchildren.

“From being a barefoot girl who didn’t even finish primary school, I have been able to fulfill my dreams, and even in my old age, I continue moving forward,” Rivera writes.

Rooted in faith and love of family, Bare Feet is written for anyone who feels unprotected or overlooked. Its message is simple: obstacles have solutions, and yes, it is possible. The book will appeal to readers of inspirational memoir, Christian living, immigrant stories and women’s entrepreneurship.

About the Author

Geraldine Rivera is a Costa Rican-born entrepreneur, single mother and proud grandmother of three who lives in Easton, Pennsylvania. Having built businesses, crossed borders and raised her family across two countries, she now channels a lifetime of hard-won wisdom into her writing. Bare Feet is her first book, and she is already writing for children.

Book Details

Title: Bare Feet: From Girl to Woman: With Courage, Strength, & Determination, She Overcame Adversity

Spanish edition: Pies Descalzos: De niña a mujer, con coraje y valentía, logré superar la adversidad

Author: Geraldine Rivera

Release date: March 11, 2026

Genre: Memoir / Biography / Christian Living

Available at: Amazon — https://a.co/d/05HBB3ao — and other major retailers

Media Contact
Company Name: Literary Titan
Contact Person: Jeff Henderson
Email: Send Email
Country: United States
Website: www.authorgeraldinerivera.com