Books: "The River Is Waiting" By Wally Lamb

 

The River Is Waiting

By Wally Lamb

S&S/Marysue Rucci Books; hardcover, 480 pages; $29.99; available today, Tuesday, June 10th

Wally Lamb is the author of six New York Times bestselling novels, I'll Take You There; We Are Water; Wishin' and Hopin'; The Hour I First Believed; I Know This Much Is True; and She's Come Undone. Lamb also was the Editor of two essays from students in his writing workshop at York Correctional Institution, a women's prison in Connecticut - Couldn't Keep It to Myself and I'll Fly Away. Lamb lives in Connecticut with his wife and three sons.

The River Is Waiting is Lamb's first new novel in nine years, and in it, he explores how people survive in the shadow of forgiveness with a story that captures the best and worst of human nature. It is a story fueled by decades of his teaching within a correctional facility and his own journey with addiction and sobriety, and it is a wrenching novel that doesn't shy away from issues that most families confront every day.

Lamb tells the dynamic story of a young father who, after an unbearable tragedy, reckons with the possibility of atonement for the unforgivable. Corby Ledbetter is dealing with new fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a spiraling secret addiction that have thrown his life and marriage into a tailspin. 

Corby accidentally caused a devastating tragedy that tore his family apart, and he is sentenced to prison, and he is struggling to survive life on the inside. He sees frightening acts of cruelty and violence, but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian and some of his fellow inmates, among them a cellmate with a warm heart and a troubled teen who's in search of a role model. 

Along with getting to know them, Corby also has his mother's enduring faith in him, and he begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation might still be possible. The biggest question he must confront is can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves.

Oprah Winfrey, in an appearance on CBS Mornings with Wally Lamb on Tuesday, announced that she has selected The River Is Waiting as he latest "Oprah's Book Club" selection.

"I know many of you might remember that Wally and I go way back because I picked his very first book in 1997 for my book club, and then I chose his second book the next year," Winfrey said in a statement. "And now with The River Is Waiting - we've selected three novels by the same author and that should tell you ALL you need to know about what I think of this truly masterful and beloved writer."

She's Come Undone, which was praised by Oprah when it was released in 1992, was an Oprah Book Club selection five years later, and I Know This Much Is True was a 1998 selection.

Lamb said in a statement about this newest honor, "I was as shocked as ever last month when I answered the phone and heard Ms. Winfrey's voice again, twenty-seven years after the last time we had talked. She told me my latest novel, The River Is Waiting, would be the 115th title in her beloved Book Club. I'm not sure why I've been on the receiving end of such grace and good fortune, but I try to live each day expressing my gratitude in the way I treat others."

To see Lamb and Winfrey's appearance on CBS Mornings, please click here.

Wally Lamb also appeared on the latest episode of "Oprah's Book Club: Presented by Starbucks," a podcast that can be viewed on Winfrey's YouTube channel, as well as other outlets.