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Waiting to Surface: A Novel
 
 
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Waiting to Surface: A Novel [Hardcover]

Emily Listfield (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 2, 2007
It takes just one phone call to change your life...

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. Sitting at her desk testing a $450 face cream, she is just rubbing it into her forearm when the phone rings.

Detective Ronald Brook, speaking softly and deliberately, 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? Immediately, Sarah's life spins into a world of uncer-tainty, hope, and fear as she grapples with the mystery of his disappearance.

As Sarah tries to discover what happened to the man she thought she knew better than anyone, she is forced to confront the love and resentments, the hopes and disappointments of her marriage. And through it all, she must find a way to help her young daughter deal with the crisis while meeting the demands of the high-powered magazine world.

Based on the author's own experiences, Waiting to Surface is a beautiful and haunting story about coming to terms with loss, learning to live in a world without answers, and discovering the ability to treasure love once again.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A woman copes with tragedy and the banalities of New York life in Listfield's deeply personal sixth novel. Based on the real-life disappearance of Listfield's husband, the novel revolves around Sarah Larkin, an art lover who actually enjoys her job as an editor at a glossy women's mag. Her alcoholic sculptor husband, Todd, though, is less than happy, and flees the disintegrating marriage, ostensibly to visit an old school friend in Florida. Sarah and their six-year-old daughter, Eliza, await his return, but a phone call from a Florida policeman signals trouble: Todd has been staying with a woman and has been reported as missing. Sarah's life then spreads out into several directions. Most immediate is the investigation into Todd's disappearance (suicide is one theory), with a skeptical cop, a kindly private eye and Todd's ex as its cross-purposed cast. Sarah also navigates infighting among the ambitious and sometimes reptilian magazine staff (who mostly feel like something out of a less ambitious novel) and meets a caring and handsome new love interest. Not all of these subplots work well together, but the through line—Sarah's and Eliza's attempt to find their new normal—does more than its share to carry the book. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

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

"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



"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

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

-- Elle

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

-- St. Petersburg Times

"Listfield deftly balances multiple plots."

-- Booklist --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Atria Books (October 2, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 141653783X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416537830
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,290,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars powerful family drama, October 3, 2007
This review is from: Waiting to Surface: A Novel (Hardcover)
Sculptor Todd Larkin travels to Florida to visit his girlfriend. Soon afterward the police call his estranged wife of a decade Manhattan magazine editor Sarah informing her he has disappeared after going for a midnight swim. Apparently his Sunshine State girlfriend let four days lapse before calling the cops.

Although she wonders if Todd is alive, Sarah is more worried for their six years old precious daughter, Eliza who she fears will be permanently traumatized by the apparent tragedy as their child was still struggling with her parents' separation. Still as Sarah tries to be there for Eliza, she takes a chance professionally and personally. She knows she must never forget Todd but she rationalizes that this is for Eliza's sake, but deep in her gut she knows his memory is important to her too.

Based on a true tragedy that happened to the author, WAITING TO SURFACE is a character driven haunting tale that asks what people do to cope and help their preadolescent children adjust when closure is unavailable. The story line grips you from the onset as Sarah struggles three months after Todd vanished with how to help Eliza while ignoring her own grief, which in turn eats at her gut. This powerful family drama shows how much love hurts yet means so much when an unexpected loss occurs.

Harriet Klausner
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Emotional Tsunami, September 20, 2007
By 
Word Lover (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   
This review is from: Waiting to Surface: A Novel (Hardcover)
Emily Listfield writes from the heart as her heroine, separated from a difficult husband, tries to unravel the mystery of his disappearance and possible death. As Sarah works to balance Manhattan motherhood (the scenes with her young daughter Eliza are the book's most poignant,) the necessity of succeeding at her chic magazine job and ultimately, dating, you will ask yourself what YOU would do in the grip of similar emotional limbo. A well-written and well-paced novel.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Read, September 22, 2007
This review is from: Waiting to Surface: A Novel (Hardcover)
A sensitive and beautifully written story that explores our deepest fear: What if someone you loved disappeared, seemingly vanished off the face of the earth? At once a page-turner with Law & Order like twists and a haunting exploration of what we know--and may never know--about the person we married, this is one of those books you keep thinking about long after you've read the last chapter. Pitch-perfect scenes between the mother and her young daughter and an insider's view of the magazine and art worlds make this a must-read.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
lonely head, flat plan
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Detective Brook, Body Issue, Loudon Beach, William Rowling, Compton Media, Karl Medford, Rena Berman, Tim Wakefield, Fort Pierce, Linda Granger, Pat Nolan, New Orleans, Miss Granger, Deirdre Gerard, Park Avenue, Good Lord, Miss Harcourt, Leon Compton, First Avenue, Todd Larkin, Media Week, Barnett Thompson, Fifth Avenue, Rivington Street
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