Totally Booked with Zibby — Wally Lamb, THE RIVER IS WAITING: A Novel

Date: December 26, 2025
Host: Zibby Owens
Guest: Wally Lamb

Episode Overview

In this emotionally rich episode, Zibby Owens welcomes bestselling author Wally Lamb to discuss his newest novel, The River Is Waiting. Together, they delve into the novel’s heavy themes of tragedy, addiction, and resilience, with Wally weaving in his personal experiences and the real-life inspirations that shaped his work. Their conversation covers the creative process, the burden of trauma, and the invaluable lessons Wally has learned through teaching and personal recovery.

Main Discussion Points

1. The Origin and Themes of The River Is Waiting

• Inspiration from Ancient Mythology and Real-Life Tragedy
  • Wally cites the myth of "La Llorona" as an initial seed for the novel. This Mexican folk tale of the wailing woman mourning her drowned children intrigued him, paralleling the intense parental loss explored in his book.
    • "Go back to the ancient myths, because they're the stories that have lasted because people need them to be told and retold." (Wally Lamb, 04:52)
  • The theme of “backover” accidents—where a loved one accidentally injures a child with a vehicle—deeply impacted Wally, especially as a grandparent, and became another core element of the narrative.
  • Wally took precaution in his own family after reading about these incidents: "If you fly up here to Connecticut from Louisiana, I will give you my car with the backup camera and I'll get another car." (Wally Lamb, 07:29)
• Personal Experience and Fear as Motivators
  • Wally acknowledges that fear, especially parental fear, significantly motivates his storytelling and his real-life actions.

2. Writing Through Darkness: Trauma, Guilt, and Hope

• Crafting Tragedy and Its Aftermath
  • The protagonist’s journey is laden with tragedy, including addiction and unimaginable loss, but ultimately explores how one survives the unthinkable.
    • "It just like keeps getting worse. When you feel like your main character can't take anything else...he has like even more horrible, painful things physically and emotionally happening." (Zibby Owens, 10:48)
• Resilience as an Emergent Theme
  • Despite the darkness, both writer and host agree: the novel shines with a message of resilience—the ability to survive and, eventually, heal.
    • "That's why I started by saying that it is about resilience, because he gets through it, shows us like we can get through anything." (Zibby Owens, 10:48)
• Writing in First Person and Immersion in Character
  • Wally describes his process as method acting; he becomes his characters during hours of intense writing, but is able to leave those emotions behind at day’s end—or so he thinks. His wife notices otherwise.
    • "I walk into the room where I write...and I become somebody else for five, six hours. And then luckily I'm able to shed that skin and go back to my own much more peaceful life." (Wally Lamb, 10:13)
    • "My wife, Chris...she says, your behavior will sort of reflect that." (Wally Lamb, 25:04)

3. Real-Life Parallels: Substance Abuse and Recovery

• Male Vulnerability and Addictive Coping Mechanisms
  • The novel authentically depicts a father grappling with job loss, depression, twin parenthood, and addiction—a perspective that is less often explored compared to maternal struggles in fiction.
    • "There's a lot written...about moms needing wine to get through the tough times, but there's a lot less about how men cope with the overwhelm of parenting." (Zibby Owens, 13:16)
  • Wally brings his own recovery experience into the novel, having achieved 14 years of sobriety.
    • "I have had my own, you know, problems with alcohol and I've been sober for about 14 years now, but I bring my own experience into some of his addictive behavior." (Wally Lamb, 14:32)
• Career Legacy and Personal Shame
  • Wally’s journey to recovery intersected with career pressure and fear of disappointing his readership, especially post-Oprah endorsement.
    • "I’d had this glorious thing happen twice with the Oprah Book Club, but I was...intimidated me to write the first sentence of something new because I didn’t want to disappoint these...millions of readers that I had." (Wally Lamb, 15:32)
  • On admitting his struggle: "It was pride really. And so, you know, it just got worse, it spiraled down, and thank God my wife hung in there with me." (Wally Lamb, 19:41)

4. Creativity, Revision, and New Projects

• Living in Uncertainty
  • Wally never plots his novels from the outset, preferring to let the story emerge organically—sometimes, even he isn’t sure where it’s all headed.
• Next Novel Sneak Peek
  • Wally teases his next work: a historical novel centered around Josephine, a feisty girl navigating family and war.
    • "The main character is a feisty young woman named Josephine, who's born in 1898...I had to do a ton of research on that horrible war [WWI]." (Wally Lamb, 21:41)
• Importance of Comic Relief
  • Despite heavy content, he ensures there's always comic relief—this time via Corby’s colorful cellmate, Manny.
    • "Because I write about these bleak things, I do have to save myself by putting in some comic relief...one of Corby's cellmates...a guy named Manny." (Wally Lamb, 24:08)
• Role of Music
  • Music plays a dual role: helping Wally decompress and inspiring scenes or titles. The novel’s title comes from a song, “The River is Waiting,” by John Fogerty and Irma Thomas.
    • "I like to tip my hat to songwriters. Every one of my novels either is from a song title or has an excerpt from a song lyric." (Wally Lamb, 25:04)

5. Writing Advice and Philosophy

• Revision as the Heart of Writing
  • Wally’s key advice: real writing happens in revision, not the first draft. He encourages humility and listening to feedback—reminding aspiring authors that even pros don’t get it right on the first try.
    • "The real writing comes in revision. Don't ever feel that you can get it right in a first draft. It doesn't happen to me, and it doesn't happen to any of the professional writers that I know." (Wally Lamb, 27:08)
    • "A first draft is grunt work...then after that, there's more play involved." (Wally Lamb, 28:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Fear probably motivates me more than anything." — Wally Lamb (07:29)
• "There's a part of me...that if I write about these terrible things happening to people, maybe they won't happen to me or my family." — Wally Lamb (09:49)
• "You think this terrible thing is going to lead to more terrible things. But in my case it led to a very, very good dividend." [On recovery and community] — Wally Lamb (19:41)
• "This is what good books do, right? They make you feel like you're going through it yourself." — Zibby Owens (28:40)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:52] — Wally on finding inspiration in myth and news
• [07:29] — The “backover” accident and his real-life family response
• [10:13] — Immersing in first-person perspective as a writer
• [13:16] — Depicting male struggles with parenthood and substance use
• [15:32] — Wally’s personal crossroads and pressures of success
• [19:41] — On entering recovery and finding unexpected connection
• [21:41] — Sneak preview of the next novel
• [24:08] — The importance of comic relief, via character Manny
• [25:04] — How music impacts writing and the novel’s title
• [27:08] — Writing and revision advice for aspiring authors

Conclusion

This episode provides both fans of Wally Lamb and new listeners with a moving exploration of tragedy, hope, and literary craft. With humility and warmth, Lamb shares personal stories behind his latest novel and offers practical wisdom for writers, all against the backdrop of genuine connection and resilience.