The River Is Waiting: A Novel

by Wally Lamb

Overview

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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781668006399
Publisher:	S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books
Publication date:	05/06/2025
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	20,932
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

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 edited Couldn’t Keep It to Myself and I’ll Fly Away, two volumes of essays from students in his writing workshop at York Correctional Institution, a women’s prison in Connecticut, where he was a volunteer facilitator for twenty years. Lamb lives in Connecticut with his wife, Christine, and they have three sons.

Hometown:

Willimantic, Connecticut

Date of Birth:

October 17, 1950

Place of Birth:

Norwich, Connecticut

Education:

B.A. in Education, University of Connecticut, 1972; M.A. in Education, 1977; M.F.A. in Writing, Vermont College, 1984

Editorial Reviews

03/03/2025

Bestseller Lamb (We Are Water) chronicles a family tragedy and its aftermath in this heart-wrenching story of redemption. Childcare duties fall to Corby Ledbetter, a young father with a hidden addiction to booze and Ativan, after he’s laid off from his advertising job. Though his teacher wife, Emily, is patient and loving, Corby has lost momentum in his job search, finding it easier to zone out with a pill and some shots of Captain Morgan. He’s a devoted dad to two-year-old twins Maisie and Niko, but he’s clearly impaired when he causes an accident that results in Niko’s death. The bulk of the novel comprises Corby’s experiences and soul searching over a three-year prison sentence, during which he struggles with the loss of his freedom and the cruelty of two sadistic guards who punish him for defending a disturbed young inmate. He also forms friendships in the library and with his cellmate, Manny; reflects on his upbringing by an abusive father and hippie mother; and fears how Emily and Maisie will react to his release. Though the narrative is a bit baggy, 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. Agent: Bill Clegg, Clegg Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

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

“[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

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

"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

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

"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

"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

"Time and time again, the amazing Wally Lamb’s imperfect people break our hearts and help us understand the unfathomable depths of guilt and grief as we look for light in the world." —Alice Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of The Practical Magic series

“The River is Waiting is an ambitious, affecting novel that’s not afraid to look directly at human suffering, and to map out the pain we inflict on others, and on ourselves. With an unflinching eye and an unsentimental compassion for his characters, Wally Lamb finds glimmers of hope and healing and decency in the darkest places." —Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of The Leftovers and Little Children

From the Publisher