Publishers Weekly – There and Back with Wally Lamb

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/97335-there-and-back-with-wally-lamb.html

There and Back with Wally Lamb

For his first novel in nine years, Wally Lamb draws on his battles with self-doubt and addiction

When Wally Lamb’s first two novels became commercial hits, it felt like a dream come true—until it didn’t. In 1997, the author won the literary lottery: Oprah Winfrey selected his fiction debut, She’s Come Undone, for her book club, turning it into a #1 bestseller. A year later, Lamb’s follow-up, I Know This Much Is True, was also selected—cementing Lamb’s reputation as one of America’s most beloved and recognizable novelists. He felt immense gratitude, but when it came time to write his third novel, The Hour I First Believed, he completely shut down.

“I had imposter syndrome,” Lamb says over Zoom from the kitchen of his home in Storrs, Conn., where he lives with his wife, Christine. “I thought, I’m never going to be able to do this again. I had a million or so readers, and I was afraid to disappoint them.”

The years that followed were some of Lamb’s darkest. His crippling self-doubt was compounded by family challenges, including caring for his ailing parents and trying to help his youngest son—who was Lamb’s nephew until he and his wife adopted him at age four—with mental health struggles. Lamb turned to alcohol to cope, the start of a battle with addiction that lasted throughout his 50s. “I would escape by drinking,” he explains. “My life felt too painful.”

When Lamb got sober 14 years ago, it was a reset. “I stopped being so scared to write. I was able to open my office door and shoo out everyone else’s expectations and reconnect to the joy of writing.”

An acute observer of the human condition, Lamb goes deep into the hearts of his characters and explores their flaws and goodness in equal measure, and his love of storytelling illuminates his prose. In addition to his novels, he is the editor of two collections of autobiographical writings by female inmates at York Correctional Institution in Connecticut (Couldn’t Keep It to Myself and I’ll Fly Away), where he worked as a volunteer writing teacher from 1999 to 2019. Lamb’s books, which examine themes of power and powerlessness, have sold more than three million copies, according to his publisher, Marysue Rucci Books, and have been translated into approximately 18 languages.

Lamb’s first novel in nine years, The River Is Waiting, out June 10, concerns Corby Ledbetter, a 30-something married father of two-year-old twins who has a secret addiction to pills and alcohol. When he causes the death of his son in a horrific accident, he’s sent to prison for 36 months. There he struggles to rebuild his life and save what’s left of his family.

Lamb called on his own addiction experience for the narrative. “My life got so limited,” he recalls. “My wife hung on and thank god she did.” He also drew from his time volunteering at York, where he heard stories of drug use, violence, and resilience. He notes that he doesn’t plot out his novels in advance, or predetermine the endings. “I have to keep showing up to find out what happens next.”

Born in 1950 in Norwich, Conn., Lamb felt lonely as a kid and entertained himself by drawing comic books featuring an alter ego named Herman, a nerd with a bow tie and big hair. “He’d walk down the street and things would happen to him,” Lamb says. “There’d be a holdup, or a safe would fall out a window. He had kind of a hot wife, too, named Barbara. Maybe it was wish fulfillment—even though I was prepubescent.”

Lamb met his own dream girl, Christine, in high school. By then, he knew he wanted to be a teacher. He earned his BA in education from the University of Connecticut in 1972 and his MA in 1977, and in 1984 received his MFA in writing from Vermont College. In 1981, Christine bought him an electric typewriter for his first Father’s Day, and since then writing and teaching have defined his life. He spent 25 years teaching English and writing to high school students at Norwich Free Academy, and two years teaching writing at the University of Connecticut. He credits teaching with making him a better novelist.

Like any great teacher, Lamb has a nurturing spirit and a heightened sense of empathy—qualities that Marysue Rucci, his editor, noticed the first time they met. “We went deep immediately,” she says. “Talking to Wally is like talking to a therapist and a wise person. He’s so good at conveying compassionate characters because that’s how he is personally.”

That skill is on display in The River Is Waiting, which features an unlikable protagonist whom readers will end up liking. When the book opens, Corby is an addict in denial. Laid off from his job in the art department of an advertising firm, he should be sending out résumés, but instead he’s putting rum in his morning coffee and hiding it from his wife. After his son’s death, Corby is convicted of second-degree involuntary manslaughter, and in prison he slowly comes to terms with what he’s permanently lost. He battles nightmares and suicidal thoughts, and attempts to sidestep dangerous criminals and help a young inmate.

Lamb masterfully gets into Corby’s head, exploring his insecurities as he tries to stay connected to his wife and remaining child, who’s already forgetting him. Along the way, Corby humbles himself to life, in a story about failure and hope that—like all of Lamb’s books—will uplift readers and break their hearts.

Bill Clegg, Lamb’s agent, believes Lamb’s superpower is his ability to plunge into the darkness of everyday life. “Wally is willing to go into areas that are uncomfortable and murky,” Clegg says. “I don’t think he sees the human experience as tidy or static. His gift is being able to explore the turns that life takes without fear of alienating readers.”

Lamb writes his books in the basement of his house, where he can play loud music during breaks. A fan of the Odyssey and other ancient myths, he has plastic figurines of Greek gods and goddesses on his windowsill to remind him of the classic stories. He reads his works in progress aloud to his wife and relies on his writing group of 20 years for steady feedback. “We take turns meeting at each other’s houses,” he says of the group. “We used to meet at restaurants, but they kept closing down, and we realized maybe we’re bad for business.”

Lamb is already at work on his next novel, partly set during World War I. “It’s nice to have book sales,” he says. “But really for me—and I hope this doesn’t sound too Pollyanna—it’s about the human connections that get forged between writers and readers.” It’s that readerly bond that Lamb treasures most. That and the one with his wife—who stuck by him no matter what.

Correction: The publication date for The River Is Waiting shifted from May to June. This article has been updated to reflect that change.

A version of this article appeared in the 03/17/2025 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline: There and Back

Oprah Daily – The 25 Most Anticipated Books of 2025

https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/g63187668/most-anticipated-books-of-2025/

The 25 Most Anticipated Books of 2025

A posthumous memoir by Josephine Baker, three new releases from Oprah’s Book Club authors, and a feminist manifesto on aging by none other than Brooke Shields?! Consider our 2025 plans sorted.

We don’t know everything that 2025 will bring, but we do know this: It’ll be a good year to be a bookworm. Some of our biggest cultural icons, like Tina Knowles and the activist-astronaut Amanda Nguyen, are finally telling their stories in debut memoirs, and some of our favorite novelists are returning after many years with books that are well worth the wait. You may already be familiar with some of the names on this list as authors of Oprah’s Book Club selections—or, in a couple of cases, guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show—but we are also excited to introduce you to writers who aren’t yet on your radar. Clear your bookshelf (and your calendar): It’s time to put in some preorders.

The River Is Waiting, by Wally Lamb

The author of not one but two of Oprah’s Book Club picks (She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much is True) returns with an epic tale of an incarcerated father trying to survive the brutalities of prison and his guilt over the crime that got him there. Through the faith of a prison librarian, the unconditional love of his mother, and his connections with other inmates, he begins to pave a path for healing and redemption within the prison’s walls. But seeking forgiveness from those on the outside is another journey entirely. Yes, the premise of this book may sound grim, but longtime readers of Lamb’s work know that his incandescent writing can illuminate even the darkest of stories.