Where the River Bends

by Richard Haddaway

Granddaddy is a Texas oilman who presides over a sprawling family, all of whom live in a house as big as Tara. His long shadow spans the twentieth century and burdens the lives of four generations, including a doomed son and Stephen, the grieving grandson.
Stephen's story and his life follow his alcoholic father to the edge. Although the young man struggles mightily to break the pattern of his own addiction and escape the privilege, tradition, and patriarchy from which he came, he eventually returns home to make peace with the past. Redemption comes from an unexpected source.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2002

About the author

Richard Haddaway has spent thirty years in the journalistic trenches as an editor, reporter and columnist for newspapers and magazines. His previous novel, Where the River Bends, was published by SMU Press in 2003.

Haddaway is a born-once, third-generation Texan who now lives in Santa Fe with his wife, Kay, a CPA, and the best of all possible dogs, WooWoo. They have one son and three grandchildren.

He was an Army medic during the Vietnam era and also worked for a time as a hospital orderly, specializing in bedpans. A Little Something was written in close consultation with a neurologist, William Gulledge, M.D.

Reviews

[Ashlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Haddaway is very gifted at describing the feeling he wanted to present. His imagery of 'West Texas'(if you call Fort Worth 'West Texas'...I don't) is very nostalgic and creates a beautiful painting. This book was hard to read because of all of the description though. I found myself skimming through paragraphs that were devoted to description of a fishing pole, or scenery that was not partial to the main story line. Yes, he writes magical decriptions--but I just couldn't get into the story.

[Hope — bookclubberhope · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book by Fort Worth native