64 pages • 2 hours read
The River Is Waiting
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Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of religious discrimination, mental illness, child abuse, pregnancy loss, child death, suicidal ideation and self-harm, substance use and dependency, graphic violence, and cursing.
Part 1: “The Unimaginable”
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “April 27, 2017”
Corbin “Corby” Ledbetter wakes up before his family, which consists of his wife, Emily, and twin toddlers, Maisie and Niko. He takes an Ativan and adds rum to his coffee, then makes breakfast. He hears Emily and the twins wake up, and reflects on how he has had to prioritize his family over his art.
As he fetches the twins from their crib, Corby realizes that the drugs are helping him feel more joyful—“elation aided, I guess, by the benzo and booze” (1). He changes them and takes them to the kitchen, where the fire alarm goes off because he forgot he was cooking French toast. He quickly calms the kids and quiets the alarm.
Emily joins them, and Corby feels guilty about his recent spiteful behavior. He watches Emily feed the twins; Maisie looks like Emily, with her darker hair and eyes, while Niko, like Corby, has a light complexion and chestnut hair. Corby brushes his teeth to hide the alcohol on his breath, then offers to clean up after Niko, so Emily can leave for work. He starts washing dishes as she leaves so he can avoid kissing her.
Betsy, the children’s maternal grandmother, is going to watch the children.
