We Are Water (68 page)

I
’m enormously grateful to my wise and thoughtful editor, Terry Karten, and my genial and gracious literary agent, Kassie Evashevski, for their help and guidance in helping me to make this a better book.

My appreciation also extends to the following writers whose critical feedback was important to the development of this story: Denise Abercrombie, Doug Anderson, Jon Anderson, Bruce Cohen, Susan Cole, Janet Dauphin, Doug Hood, Careen Jennings, Leslie Johnson, T. C. Karmel, Pam Lewis, Sari Rosenblatt, Amanda Smith, Ellen Zahl, and the women of the York Correctional Institution writing group.

Warm thanks to painters and educators Joseph Gualtieri and Mary Ann Hall for their guidance and inspiration with regard to all things artistic.

This story was informed in part by a devastating 1963 flood that occurred in my hometown of Norwich, Connecticut. For their connection to and generous sharing of information about that tragedy, I am grateful to the following: Tony Orsini, Tom Moody, Jim Moody, Sean Moody, Tony Longo, Norah Kaszuba, Frances and Dick Buckley, Dennis Riley, Bill Zeitz, and the good folks of D’Elia’s Bakery.

Thanks to the following who shared their time and information on a variety of subjects, or who connected me to people who informed aspects of this story: Steven Dauer, Laura Durand, Mary Kay Kelleher, Fran Kornacki, and Melody Knight Leary.

A nod of appreciation to my faithful office assistants, Amanda Smith and Joe Darda, and for their guidance and moral support, Justin Manchester, Charley Correll, Mark Hand, and Hilda “Prosperine” Belcher. As always, thanks to my good and faithful friend Ethel Mantzaris.

The publication of a novel requires teamwork, and I salute the Harper team, the best in the business, especially Michael Morrison, Jonathan Burnham, Kathy Schneider, Leslie Cohen, Tina Andreadis, Lydia Weaver, Leah Wasielewski, Milan Bozic, Fritz Metsch, Sarah Odell, Shelly Perron, Kate Walker, and the entire sales crew.

Special thanks to my bride of the past thirty-five years and the love of my life, Christine Lamb.

Finally, it is my sincere hope that this novel honors the lives and acknowledges the untimely deaths of Ellis Ruley (1882–1959) and Margaret “Honey” Moody (1938–1963).

Suggestions for further reading:

Thomas R. Moody, Jr.’s
A Swift and Deadly Maelstrom: The Great Norwich Flood of 1963, A Survivor’s Story
(Bloomington, IN: XLibris, 2013).

Glenn Robert Smith and Robert Kenner’s
Discovering Ellis Ruley: The Story of an American Outsider Artist
(New York: Crown, 1993).

A Note from Wally Lamb

The deaths by gunfire of children and their teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, occurred as I was readying this novel for publication. I invite readers who are so inclined to join me in my response to this unfathomable tragedy by contributing to one or both of the following. Thank you.

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: www.bradycampaign.org

National Alliance on Mental Illness: www.nami.org

About the Author

WALLY LAMB
is the author of four previous novels, including the
New York Times
and national bestseller
The Hour I First Believed
and
Wishin’ and Hopin’
, a bestselling novella. His first two works of fiction,
She’s Come Undone
and
I Know This Much Is True
, were both number one
New York Times
bestsellers and selections of Oprah’s Book Club. Lamb 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 has been a volunteer facilitator for fifteen years. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Christine. The Lambs are the parents of three sons.

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Also by Wally Lamb

Wishin’ and Hopin’

The Hour I First Believed

I Know This Much Is True

She’s Come Undone

By Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution

Couldn’t Keep It to Myself:

Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters

I’ll Fly Away:

Further Testimonies from the Women of York Prison

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Credits

An excerpt from “Girl Skipping Rope” was previously published in
Ploughshares
, Winter 2011–2012, Issue 37.4.

“Ghost of a Chance.” Copyright © 1993, 1967, 1963 by Adrienne Rich, from
Collected Early Poems: 1950–1970
by Adrienne Rich. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Cover painting © Thanassi

Cover design by Milan Bozic

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

WE ARE WATER
. Copyright © 2013 by Wally Lamb. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data has been applied for.

ISBN 978-0-06-194102-3

EPub Edition © November 2013 ISBN: 9780062199027

Version 09202013

13 14 15 16 17
OV/RRD
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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