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A Novel
by Wally Lamb
Book Reviewed by: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?
Chapter One
April 27, 2017
It's six a.m. and I'm the first one up. Spotify's playing that Chainsmokers song I like. If we go down, then we go down together… I take an Ativan and chase my morning coffee with a couple of splashes of hundred-proof Captain Morgan. I return the bottle to its hiding place inside the twenty-quart lobster pot we never use, put the lid on, and put it back in the cabinet above the fridge that Emily can't reach without the step stool. Then I fill the twins' sippy cups and start making French toast for breakfast. If we go down, then we go down together. I cut the music so I can listen for the kids, but that song's probably going to play in my head all morning.
Emily's up now and in the bathroom, getting ready for work. When the shower stops, I hear the twins babbling to each other in the nursery we converted from my studio almost two years ago. My easel, canvases, and paints had been exiled to the space behind the basement stairs. It wasn't much of a sacrifice....
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (3/12/2026)
Kim, I just finished River is Waiting by Wally Lamb. His long novels never fail to lose your attention however difficult the novel's situation. This book is about Corby Ledbetter who in a state of some level of inebriation inadvertently backs over his young son, killing him. For the other five hu...
-Kassapa
Requesting community assistance!
Hi fellow bookies! (hmmm, that sounds weird…) I've been in touch with Wally Lamb's publicist. He's sadly not interested in sitting down with us, but he would be willing to reply to a Q & A document. So here's where I need your help… What questions would you like to post to this author? I've read ...
-kim.kovacs
(Spoilers) Who has read Wally Lamb's The River is Waiting?
I loved this book! The ending was devastating but I felt it was realistic. We are not always given the luxury of enough time to wrap things up the way we might prefer. The whole book was a lot of reality that is easy to deny or forget. But when we allow ourselves to "go in", we are better off for...
-Judith_V
Aspen Words Literary Prize 2026
...ost impactful for me. I can see why the others, https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/20975/the-river-is-waiting The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb and https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/5025/wild-dark-shore Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy made it to the list. I'm abo...
-kim.kovacs
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/23/2025)
I am reading A River is Waiting by Wally Lamb for book group.
-Elizabeth_H
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/16/2025)
I am reading Love, Sex and Frankenstein by Caroline Lea. She has made Byron, Shelley and Mary Shelley three of the most unlikeable characters in recent reads!! Really liked The River is Waiting (Wally Lamb) and All the Colors of the Dark. At my book club we were talking about our mothers not lett...
-Barbette_T
Did you find the beginning of the book particularly dark or difficult? How did your perspective on the tone change as the story continued?
The darkness of the story did not affect me or seem too dark to handle, but I did wonder where the plot was leading. At times, that did not seem entirely clear. I think that any literature that deals honestly about drug addiction/abuse will be dark. I recently read Wally Lamb's latest book, The R...
-Rebecca_R
What are you reading this week? (8/21/2025)
I am reading THE RIVER IS WAITING. It grabbed me from page 1. Wally Lamb makes you think about how one would approach this dilemma. I can't imagine what will happen but i am enjoying his writing!
-Helen_Pilotte
What are you reading this week? (8/7/2025)
Just finished Wally Lamb's The River Is Waiting and it was great. About to start Our Last Resort by Clemence Michallon.
-Janet_W1
What are you reading this week? (7/17/2025)
Just finished listening to Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller.Tough to hear her read about the assault and trial, etc. With that being so heavy needed something light so am half way through The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren. Fun romance. Need to finish it fast as Wally Lamb's The ...
-Colleen_K
What are you reading this week? (7/10/2025)
The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware and listening to The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb.
-Donna_J
What are you reading this week? (6/19/025)
I recently attended an author event of Wally Lamb and started his book The River is Waiting. Tough topic, but can't put it down. I also have JoJo Moyes We All Live Here from Libby and reading on my iPad.
-Melinda_J
What are you reading this week? (6/5/2025)
Hoping to start The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb today. After enjoying that one, I am going to read Riley Sager's With a Vengeance. Wish I had more time to read uninterrupted!
-Janet_W1
Wally Lamb's novel The River Is Waiting tells the story of Corby Ledbetter, a young, unemployed commercial artist and the father of two-year-old twins. Although Corby is a loving stay-at-home father, he's also an addict, popping an Ativan or two with a rum chaser before the kids are even awake most mornings. One morning, Corby is distracted as he's loading the car and forgets that he's only buckled in one of the twins. His son, Niko, is killed when the car backs over him in the driveway, and Corby is sent to prison for three years on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. The bulk of the novel describes Corby's life in prison and his desire for redemption. Indeed, it is no doubt Corby's complexity that put the book on so many "best of the year" lists. It's a realistic portrayal of the addiction and recovery process. A book's ending can make or break the reading experience, and in this case it almost achieved the latter for me. I can't go into details without inserting a major plot spoiler, but the final chapter of The River Is Waiting felt like a cheat. That said, it's an interesting, well-written novel, and I do recommend it for its portrayal of grief and addiction (two subjects the author totally nails). I enjoyed all but the last few pages, and I know Corby will remain in my mind for many days to come—the mark of a superbly drawn character...continued
Full Review
(731 words)
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Alice Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of The Practical Magic series
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. Beth Macy, author of Dopesick and Raising Lazarus
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. Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of The Leftovers and Little Children
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.
Wally Lamb's novel The River Is Waiting centers on the experiences of Corby Ledbetter, who is responsible for an unthinkable accident while intoxicated. Addicted to alcohol and lorazepam (an anti-anxiety medication in the benzodiazepine family), Ledbetter begins attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings to help him remain clean and sober.
The history of Alcoholics Anonymous began with the Oxford Group, a non-denominational (but explicitly evangelical) Christian organization founded by Pennsylvanian Frank Buchman in 1921 (though it was originally called A First Century Christian Fellowship and was renamed the Oxford Group in 1931). Buchman was struggling with an all-consuming anger with a group of business associates, but on a trip to...
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