Waiting to Surface - by Emily Listfield (Paperback)

About the Book

This hauntingly beautiful novel--based on the authors own experiences--tells of a magazine editor and mother whose life is changed forever when her husband vanishes without a trace. Ultimately, this is the story of coming to terms with loss and rediscovering the ability to love.

Book Synopsis

Based on the author's own experiences a "heartrending" (People) and haunting story about a magazine editor and mother whose life is changed by a phone call revealing that her husband has vanished without a trace.

On a steamy August morning, Sarah Larkin drops her six-year-old daughter, Eliza, off at camp and heads to her office, where she works as an editor of a women's magazine. She is sitting at her desk testing a $450 face cream when the phone rings.

Detective Ronald Brook tells Sarah that her husband has vanished. A keening sound escapes from Sarah's throat as the detective lays out the few facts he knows.

A noted sculptor, Todd Larkin went swimming at midnight off the coast of Florida and hasn't returned. He was staying with a woman. He was drinking. He left behind his keys, wallet, cell phone, and his return airline ticket. They also found two drawings and pieces of a sculpture. But there is no trace of him or his body. The coast guard has been scouring the shoreline, but no one has seen a thing.

Has Todd run off to start a new life or is he dead? Could it have been an accident, suicide, or homicide? As Sarah grapples with the mystery of his disappearance, she is forced to confront the hopes and disappointments of her marriage. And through it all, she must also help her young daughter deal with the crisis while meeting the demands of the high-powered magazine world.

"A gripping story" (Parade) about coming to terms with loss, learning to live in a world without answers, and discovering the ability to treasure love once again, Waiting to Surface is a story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

Review Quotes

"A well thought out story about wife-husband relationships, mother-daughter relationships...and perhaps most of all -- living with uncertainty."

-- St. Petersburg Times

"Based on events from her own life, Waiting to Surface is a gripping story that begins when a husband vanishes mysteriously."
-- Parade

"Emily Listfield has written a suspenseful and poignant novel that beautifully captures the complexity of a marriage and the troubling uncertainties of life. Waiting to Surface haunted me long after I read its last page." -- Leslie Schnur, author of Late Night Talking and The Dog Walker

"Heartbreaking...In muted prose, Listfield movingly takes us through Sarah's day-to-day grief, coupled with her hard-headed determination to figure out what happened to Todd. She juggles her sense of loss, her job and raising a daughter who blames her for her missing dad with the antics of her younger colleagues and her own investigation into her husband's fate."

-- USA Today

"Heartrending..."
-- People

"In this compulsively readable novel, Listfield creates a compelling portrait of grief and resilience. This is a story that will stay with you." -- Lisa Tucker, author of Once Upon a Day and The Song Reader

"Listfield deftly balances multiple plots."

-- Booklist

"Listfield spins a tale of supreme loss into one of gutsy, grace-filled redemption."

-- Elle