The River Within

Mar 19, 2013 Baxter Trautman rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author) Recommends it for: Thoughtful, emotionally mature women.

Shelves: lesbian, fiction, women

Well, okay, 5 stars may be a little much but what parent doesn't think her children are the best?

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Jun 23, 2011 Katy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

Recommended to Katy by: Baxter Clare Trautman

Shelves: ebook, galley-for-review

“The River Within” focuses on the lives of Greer Madison – a war journalist who has covered the ‘Stan beat for decades and who was recently involved in a situation where she was seriously injured and a young woman, a photojournalist, who was with her was killed – and Darlene, Doug and Katie Richardson, whose son (Darlene and Doug) and brother (Katie) Christopher recently died while serving in the Middle East as a corpsman for a group of Marines. Darlene knows exactly how Christopher died, but re...more “The River Within” focuses on the lives of Greer Madison – a war journalist who has covered the ‘Stan beat for decades and who was recently involved in a situation where she was seriously injured and a young woman, a photojournalist, who was with her was killed – and Darlene, Doug and Katie Richardson, whose son (Darlene and Doug) and brother (Katie) Christopher recently died while serving in the Middle East as a corpsman for a group of Marines. Darlene knows exactly how Christopher died, but refuses to tell Doug and Katie, and mourns Christopher with an obsessiveness that is driving the rest of her family away. Greer, by contacting the men that Christopher was serving with, has also discovered exactly how he died and tries repeatedly to get Darlene to tell her family the truth. The story is so much more than that, though – it is a poignant journey into the hearts and minds of a group of people who are grieving, for different reasons and in different ways, and by doing so are each cutting themselves off from those who might help them.

I was amazed by how much I loved this book; I’m not normally one to enjoy something with so much pathos, but this story engaged me from the first page and refused to let me go. The characters are all accessible, even when behaving in a manner that made me what to smack them, and carefully crafted and drawn to create a bond between them and the reader. Baxter Clare Trautman has done an amazing job in creating a story that walks the fine line between hope and despair, growth and stagnation, and I believe that almost anyone would take something great from this story.

One thing I particularly liked is that such a variety of people are included in the story. Greer is a self-described lesbian; Katie’s best friend Anthony is gay; Darlene and Doug has distinctly different, but compatible, personalities. We never actually meet Christopher, but get to know him through his letters home, which are sprinkled throughout the book and which provide us a very accurate portrayal of his personality and how it has changed through his time in the Middle East.

The only problem I saw throughout the book was some issues with copy editing – there were a lot of instances of the misuse of “your/you’re” and possessives that should have been caught by a careful copy editor. This is, unfortunately, quite common among modern publishers and it is rare you find a book without these sorts of issues.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who can get their hands on it. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up – it’s a keeper!(less)

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Jun 18, 2012 Cab rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: drama, e-books

This was a fascinating story where we get to see 3 different women dealing with their own emotional and psychological crisis and the lies they hide behind. What’s really interesting is that the lies are really the ones that they tell themselves: Darlene and her son’s death; Greer and her career and who she has become; Kate hiding who she is and what she wants in an effort to make everyone else happy.

One of the most powerful scenes for me was when Darlene kills the Blue Jay who tried to steal th...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Katy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: galley-for-review

“The River Within” focuses on the lives of Greer Madison – a war journalist who has covered the ‘Stan beat for decades and who was recently involved in a situation where she was seriously injured and a young woman, a photojournalist, who was with her was killed – and Darlene, Doug and Katie Richardson, whose son (Darlene and Doug) and brother (Katie) Christopher recently died while serving in the Middle East as a corpsman for a group of Marines. Darlene knows exactly how Christopher died, but re...more “The River Within” focuses on the lives of Greer Madison – a war journalist who has covered the ‘Stan beat for decades and who was recently involved in a situation where she was seriously injured and a young woman, a photojournalist, who was with her was killed – and Darlene, Doug and Katie Richardson, whose son (Darlene and Doug) and brother (Katie) Christopher recently died while serving in the Middle East as a corpsman for a group of Marines. Darlene knows exactly how Christopher died, but refuses to tell Doug and Katie, and mourns Christopher with an obsessiveness that is driving the rest of her family away. Greer, by contacting the men that Christopher was serving with, has also discovered exactly how he died and tries repeatedly to get Darlene to tell her family the truth. The story is so much more than that, though – it is a poignant journey into the hearts and minds of a group of people who are grieving, for different reasons and in different ways, and by doing so are each cutting themselves off from those who might help them.

I was amazed by how much I loved this book; I’m not normally one to enjoy something with so much pathos, but this story engaged me from the first page and refused to let me go. The characters are all accessible, even when behaving in a manner that made me what to smack them, and carefully crafted and drawn to create a bond between them and the reader. Baxter Clare Trautman has done an amazing job in creating a story that walks the fine line between hope and despair, growth and stagnation, and I believe that almost anyone would take something great from this story.

One thing I particularly liked is that such a variety of people are included in the story. Greer is a self-described lesbian; Katie’s best friend Anthony is gay; Darlene and Doug has distinctly different, but compatible, personalities. We never actually meet Christopher, but get to know him through his letters home, which are sprinkled throughout the book and which provide us a very accurate portrayal of his personality and how it has changed through his time in the Middle East.

The only problem I saw throughout the book was some issues with copy editing – there were a lot of instances of the misuse of “your/you’re” and possessives that should have been caught by a careful copy editor. This is, unfortunately, quite common among modern publishers and it is rare you find a book without these sorts of issues.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who can get their hands on it. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up – it’s a keeper!(less)

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Jun 26, 2011 Naiya rated it 4 of 5 stars

The story:

Greer Madison, Foreign Correspondent, has breathed war for the last thirty years. She's the best there is. But when a colleague dies trying to reach her, something inside her breaks. Greer finds herself back in the States, nursing her injuries at the house of her long-time friend, Darlene.

Darlene too is a casualty of war. After the death of her son, Chris, the last thing she needs is her perceptive friend rattling her carefully-crafted mask of normalcy and the lies she's built to prote...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Barrett rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone

Shelves: favorites

Just finished this sensational novel. I am still reeling from the experience and will add more when I'm able . This truly is a "Must Read"

I'm not a reviewer, but I was knocked sideways--emotionally-- by this book. I read it over a few days and grew more and more sad, despairing, and restless. The storyline for each of the three women wound tighter as their connection to one one another became more complex. the back story in some flashback added color and depth to the portrait that the author cr...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read for two main reasons: either I wish to be challenged and I use reading as a self-discovery process, or I wish to be entertained, in which case the story must be written captivatingly enough to suspend my disbelief. I suppose this could make me a harsh critic, but this is just what I like when I read.

Having said that, "The River Within" falls more into my first reason for reading: to be challenged and to think and possibly learn something about myself that I can take forward. I find books...more I read for two main reasons: either I wish to be challenged and I use reading as a self-discovery process, or I wish to be entertained, in which case the story must be written captivatingly enough to suspend my disbelief. I suppose this could make me a harsh critic, but this is just what I like when I read.

Having said that, "The River Within" falls more into my first reason for reading: to be challenged and to think and possibly learn something about myself that I can take forward. I find books that fall into this realm to be particularly difficult to review, as the books themselves tend to focus more on the internal rather than the external and the lessons conveyed are personal to the reader. What I can say is that this book hit the mark as a challenging and rewarding read. I also think this book could speak to any reader at any age, as the lessons being conveyed are things we can all relate to and the message is a timeless one.

One of the things I really liked about this book was the messy-life aspect. The three main characters were all facing internal challenges that were manifesting themselves in external ways. Each had to come to terms with themselves as their secrets propelled them towards undesirable futures, and they all knew it on some level or another. The focus on the three women remained tight, but the almost poetic descriptions of different people, places and times provided a nice relief from the growing tension. The characters' personalities were revealed organically through stories retold, conversations, and the actions they took. The little nuances made them all that more endearing and memorable.

The one thing I did not care for so much was the epilogue. The whole book has a nice messy-life feel to it, and it could have ended on that same note sans epilogue. I felt the epilogue tidied things up a bit too much and took a little away from everything up until then. So if you're like me and don't mind loose ends, then skip the epilogue. But if you enjoy a finer polish to the end of a good book, then go ahead and read the epilogue. Either way, you won't be disappointed.
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Sep 10, 2012 M rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: l-books, 5-books

This book was so wonderfully well judged and marvellously paced that I would highly recommend it all readers, not just those with an interest in Lesfic.

The character of Greer is so well realised that even though she is a deeply flawed and traumatised person, she is still a stunningly interesting and attractive woman. I had more issues with the Dar and Kate characters, but still found them interesting and compelling.

The whole story of Chris, told in his letters and recounted stories was incredibl...more

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Dec 26, 2011 Sharada rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book but the epilogue was terrible! The ending before the epilogue also seemed a little rushed.

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May 10, 2013 Karen Mcquillen marked it as to-read

Apr 17, 2013 V rated it 5 of 5 stars

Apr 09, 2013 John marked it as to-read

May 01, 2013 Ðɑηηɑ marked it as will-not-read

Mar 19, 2013 Jenifer marked it as to-read

Jan 24, 2013 Mama Love rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jan 14, 2013 Patricia Sands marked it as to-read

Jan 05, 2013 Merrill Black marked it as to-read

Dec 30, 2012 Patti marked it as to-read

Dec 15, 2012 Dyllan, The Brazuca Ekaterina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-favorites, contemporary, f-f, favorite-author, favorite-heroine, favorites, for-a-challenge, i-cried, new-author-4-moi, not-for-the-faint-of-heart, read-in-2012, sexxxy-v-read-this, taboo, to-be-reviewed

Dec 08, 2012 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Nov 29, 2012 Mary marked it as to-read

Nov 24, 2012 Amanda marked it as to-read

Nov 21, 2012 Dharma added it

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Shelves: thinking-about-it

Nov 01, 2012 Catriona marked it as to-read

Nov 15, 2012 Melody rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Oct 17, 2012 Tsvetelina Valkova marked it as to-read

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