The River Is Waiting

Description

By (author) Lamb Wally

Short /annotation:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two Oprah Book Club Picks – She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True – comes the propulsive story of a young father who, after an unbearable tragedy, reckons with the possibility of atonement for the unforgivable.

:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two Oprah Book Club Picks—She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True—Wally Lamb comes the propulsive story of a young father who, after an unbearable tragedy, reckons with the possibility of atonement for the unforgivable.

Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that’s before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart. Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders, including a tender-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen desperate for a role model. Buoyed by them and by his mother’s enduring faith in him, Corby begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation might still be possible. Can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves?

Review quote:
“Lamb sheds light on the inhumanity and cruelty of the American prison system, while also offering glimmers of hope and friendship… There are no simple resolutions in this gripping drama, and Lamb offers plenty to ponder about guilt, innocence, rehabilitation, and forgiveness.” —
Booklist

Review quote:
“[A] heart-wrenching story of redemption… Lamb lays bare the vagaries of his protagonist’s life in accessible prose and concludes on a bittersweet note. This will please the author’s fans.”
—Publishers Weekly

Review quote:
“Riveting… Lamb expertly shows [Corby’s] arduous, bumpy progression… a gripping […] story of grief, guilt, and healing.”
—Kirkus

Review quote:
“Wally Lamb has always written with compassion for all of his characters, no matter their flaws. But here, in this moving exploration of an otherwise good man and loving father who happens to be an addict, Lamb goes deeply into what it means not only to survive tragedy, but to actually heal from it by stepping tentatively into real forgiveness. I could not put down The River is Waiting, and I predict that you won”t be able to either.” 
—Andre Dubus III, New York Times bestselling author of House of Sand and Fog and Ghost Dogs

Review quote:
“A heartwrenching, moving tale about the power of forgiveness, resilience and growth.”
—Woman”s World, “12 Most Anticipated Books of 2025”

Review quote:
“I was awestruck by this brilliant novel! I know that “authenticity” isn’t the sexiest takeaway, but on my honor, page after riveting page, I asked myself, “How did he know this? How is this so moving, so real, so close to the bone?” Bravo, Wally Lamb.  Not that you needed another masterpiece to demonstrate your unerring eye, ear, and signature heart, but may I say The River is Waiting might crown them all.”
—Elinor Lipman, author of Every Tom, Dick & Harry and Ms. Demeanor

Review quote:
“As usual, Wally Lamb gripped me with his perceptive, page-turning novel, The River Is Waiting, a story that illuminates how the traumas of mass incarceration and addiction stigma spare no one. Lamb delivers what’s most needed in these turbulent times—an absolute empathy bomb.”
—Beth Macy, author of Dopesick and Raising Lazarus