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Wally Lamb, author of The River Is Waiting

New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown Corby Ledbetter’s 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 still might be possible. Can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves?

The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb

June 2025

Wow is the first word that I use to describe this powerful and moving work from Wally Lamb. I finished THE RIVER IS WAITING last Saturday morning and went through most of the rest of the weekend ruminating about it.

I will say that this is not a happy book. In fact, there is a lot of sadness woven between its pages. There are moments when you will want to knock characters’ heads together. There are other times when you will have so much sympathy and know that this novel will have you seeing incarceration up close in a raw way.