He was born in East Rochester, New Hampshire, and moved to Littleton, Colorado, in 1906 with his family when he was eight, in the hopes that a dry climate would improve his father Charles's tuberculosis.
He and his sister Grace combined ingenuity with hard work in a variety of odd jobs, including starting a street baking business, to help their mother provide for their large family.
The Moody clan returned to Boston some time after Charles's death, because Mary-Emma, Ralph's mother, was served a subpoena but did not want to appear in court against a man she believed to be innocent.
His books cover his experience during this time in the desert southwest and mid-western US, including stints as a bust sculptor, a horse rider doing "horse falls" for motion pictures, and a farm hand - turned owner, as he worked his way back toward Colorado, while continuing to support his family financially.
Moving to Kansas City, MO, they had three children, Charles, Edna, and Andrew, and Ralph began a career with the Procter & Gamble Company.