The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb

STAFF REVIEW

The River is Waiting is a harrowing account of a tragic family accident, that is all too real and believable. Corby and Emily are parents doing their best to juggle two-year old twins, new unemployment, and a creeping drug and alcohol issue that ultimately unravels their family unit. What follows though is an exploration into the justice system, and the small acts of hope, kindness, forgiveness and an ability to look for the light.  A hefty 460-page read that I flew through and couldn’t put down. Lamb has a way with words, that pulls you completely into his story and leaves you reeling long after the final page.

Reviewed by Belinda

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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. As he counts down the weeks, months, and years of his incarceration, he develops elemental kinships with a tenderhearted cellmate, a troubled teen desperate for a role model, and a prison librarian who sees and nurtures his light. 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?

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.

18 Jun 2025

The River Is Waiting: A Novel by Wally Lamb ISBN 9781668211861