Bertha Ricketts was born in Mississippi, where her mother and grandmother provided a homeschooled education. They also provided a nickname — “Cid” — based on her calm and “placid” nature. She furthered her education at Columbia University, where she earned a Masters Degree. Cid enrolled in nursing school, but dropped out after a year when she married one of her professors. She had four children and after they had grown, she embarked on a new career as an author.
Her first novel was not well received. But her second, “Quality” published in 1946, was very popular. It took on racial segregation and address themes that were controversial at the time. The novel provided the basis for the 1949 film Pinky starring Jeanne Crain.
Her next novel, “Tammy Out of Time,” became her most well know. It was filmed as Tammy and the Bachelor starring Debbie Reynolds. It spawned several more books in a series, as well as more movies and a television series.
Cid published more novels and short story collections, as well as non-fiction accounts of her adventures on the Colorado River as the only woman in the 1955 Eggert-Hatch river expedition.
Later in her life, Cid moved to Massachusetts to be closer to her extended family. On October 15, 1970, Cid, in a robe and slippers, answered a knock at her front door. It was her sixteen-year old grandson. The boy bludgeoned Cid to death with a hammer. Cid was 80 years-old. Her grandson took his own life while incarcerated.