If you are someone who cries during Hallmark movies or when Bambi’s mother dies in the Disney movie, The River is Waiting might be a tough read for you emotionally. I’m a person who ‘feels’ what the characters are going through and thinks about their situation for days on end, so I must admit that after reading about an unbearable tragedy that happens in this book, I wasn’t sure I could finish it! But I put my feelings aside, telling myself it’s just a story, and read the book cover to cover.
What a story it is! It’s easy to see why The River is Waiting is an instant New York Times Bestseller, a USA Today Bestseller and an Oprah’s Book Club Pick.
The River is Waiting revolves around Corby Ledbetter, a young father with toddler twins who recently lost his job and is struggling to find work. He’s also hiding a secret addiction. And then tragedy strikes, tearing Corby’s family apart. As a result, Corby is sent to prison where he witnesses acts of brutality, but also acts of kindness. The characters jump off the page including some scary inmates and prison guards, a caring cellmate, and a prison librarian who, despite prison rules, establishes a kinship with Corby making life inside a little more bearable. Corby begins to see light at the end of the tunnel as his prison sentence is nearing an end but wonders if his family, including his wife Emily, can ever forgive or trust him again. Can he ever forgive himself?
“…a gripping and unforgettable page-turner about addiction, incarceration, survival, love and hope”
The reason the story is so realistic is that author Wally Lamb has conducted writing workshops as a volunteer facilitator for 20 years at the York Correctional Institution, a women’s prison in Connecticut. He is also the author of six New York Times bestselling novels and has edited two volumes of essays from his incarcerated writing students.
The River is Waiting is a gripping and unforgettable page-turner about addiction, incarceration, survival, love and hope. This book shows readers that despite our past, we humans are capable of being able to dig deep and find the strength to shed our demons and believe is ourselves and the hope of a better tomorrow.
A great read–8.0 out of 10.
The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb is available now in bookstores. Copyright © 2025 by Wally Lamb. Published by Marysue Rucci Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC.
About the Author
Wally Lamb’s bestselling New York Times novels include 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 lives in Connecticut with his wife Christine and their three sons.
by Laurie Wallace-Lynch
2019 Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) Certificate of Excellence Third Place Best Food and Drink Feature
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