On the Edge ― An Odyssey

A memoir of risk-taking, poignancy and redemption, On the Edge recounts University of Washington grad, Stephen Murphy’s odyssey east to Harvard Business School. Feel his pain as his hopes come crashing down. Watch him struggle through Vietnam and Pacific typhoons, but find his way to Columbia Business School and later Brazil. How does he live in an infamous favela in Rio de Janeiro, as an international banker, or end up with Hollywood studios, fighting pirates? Or how does he run the gauntlet in both Bush administrations inside the Beltway, yet keep his cool? In twelve chapters focused on “turning points of life,” On the Edge: An Odyssey gives inspiration to professionals to land on their feet despite harsh circumstance. “On the Edge seeks to recollect the author’s life with large strokes, while zooming in on specific events that stand out. However, it is not a story told without purpose. Rather, the author’s life story is shown to be one of seeking his raison d'être... finally coming to find meaning in faith and in connecting peoples of the Americas. This book was a great read, and I am thankful that you have decided to share your adventures and lessons learned with many readers.” --CreateSpace, Jon, editor ‘’Stephen Murphy has indeed taken paths less travelled. This is a frank and personal discussion of success, failure and lessons learned by a Seattle boy who became a global wanderer.” -- Christopher T. Bayley, author, Seattle Justice; chair, Stewardship Partners; former King County Prosecuting Attorney.

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Stephen Murphy always felt attracted ‘south of the border’ – starting with an Ecuadorian girl friend at Seattle’s World Fair. An alumnus of the University of Washington and Columbia’s Graduate School of Business, he also served as gunnery officer on the USS Goldsborough offshore Vietnam. His first job as a young professional was international lending officer, BankBoston, in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, where Brazil brought him in contact with street kids, depicted in On the Edge: An Odyssey. Though holding executive positions with BankBoston, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, Inter-American Development Bank, his love has always been with peoples of the Americas. As a political appointee in Bush I and II, formerly as Regional Director, Peace Corps, the Inter-Americas, Stephen has maintained dialogue with longstanding friends throughout the hemisphere. He founded the Pixote Literacy Fund, Partners of the Americas, to help kids “on the edge” to read and is Pacific Northwest Advisors’ expert in Latin America. He serves as chapter advisor, Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at the University of Washington and on UW AIESEC’s Board of Advisors. He’s taught international management courses at Seattle University and resides in Issaquah, Washington with his wife Vicki and their Lhasa Apso and tabby cat.Remarks BankBoston’s alumni director, William Hamilton: “Steve’s early days in Rio de Janeiro - living in a favela and hanging out with Rio’s street kids - are unusual for a staid banker. Though sometimes iconoclastic, his words and actions always give hope.”