Reading Water: Lessons from the River

by Rebecca Lawton

Rivers. Life lessons. Boating culture. This book takes on these subjects and more. Readers will learn about rivers and the people who love them, not only as thrill rides and vacation destinations, but also as rich ecosystems and spiritual wellsprings. As Rebecca Lawton says, "To those who come to know them well, rivers are home . . . Being on the river every day, all summer, for more than a decade, taught me to read water - to psyche out where rocks hid in riffles, find safe passage in inscrutable rapids, and keep moving in flat water." Here are the countless lessons to be learned from rivers and currents, living in the river community, and becoming part of a boating family for life.

Genres: Nature, Memoir, Nonfiction, Science Nature

Paperback

First published December 23, 2002

About the author

Rebecca Lawton is an award-winning author and fluvial geologist, former Grand Canyon river guide, and aspiring bodhisattva. She lives and writes on an ephemeral stream in northern California steelhead country, at the foot of mountains walked forever by Miwok and Pomo.

Her writing has won a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair, Nautilus Book Award, Ellen Meloy Fund Award for Desert Writers, Waterston Desert Writing Prize, WILLA for original softcover fiction, three Pushcart Prize nominations, and residencies at Hedgebrook and The Island Institute.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely book seems simple enough on the surface (the memoirs of a woman river rafting guide), but, like water itself, there's much more going on beneath the surface. Reading Water is part of the Capital Discoveries Book Series from Capital Books, chosen for their focus on "journeys of self-discovery, transformation, inner awareness, and recovery." This book is a perfect fit for that series.

Lawton weaves many threads into each essay, much like the interwoven currents of the braided rivers she describes in one essay. Some threads are past, present, and further past; others are experience, observation, and research. These threads feel somewhat unrelated until the questions gradually flow over the reader like a gentle sprinkle as opposed to a downpour of forced epiphany.

Her writing style is beautiful and poetic (with the minor exception of an undue fondness for sentence fragments). Her style takes a few pages to get used to, but then it becomes hypnotic. To pose an obvious metaphor, her phrasing pulls the readers along with the sureness and variety of a peaceful river with occasional rapids.

Lawton's greatest strength as a writer is how she combines a scholar's depth of knowledge with a romantic's depth of feeling. She does a great job of interlacing fact and experience. The curious patterns in the lives of salmon might be discussed objectively in one passage, followed closely by the delight of feasting on their flesh in the next. Turning the pages of Reading Water, like reading the best of memoirs, is a learning *and* feeling experience.

As a memoir or as an investigation of the power of moving water to affect human beings, Reading Water is strongly recommended.

[Marilyn McEntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember what a great pleasure it was, years ago, to follow the deftly entwined threads of Terry Tempest Williams' Refuge, where natural history and personal history intersected with a grace and certainty that reminded readers that the two are never, for any of us, far apart. I recalled that pleasure as I read Reading Water--a book that offered its own unique delights. Each episode of her life as a river guide directs our attention to the specific challenges of particular rivers and unusual predicaments in running them with what seems a genuine and generous desire to share the secrets of her trade. Picking it up by context a willing reader can learn a good bit of the vocabulary that offers us a closer, richer understanding of what we're likely to see when we stand at the river's edge. We also learn something about a how one resilient woman navigated hard losses and sudden changes, finding in the life of waterways she loved nourishment for her own. A lovely read--especially for those of us who live half a mile from the riverside.

[J. Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how this never made it to my list till now, for I read it several years ago and re-read portions every-so-often. Not only did I learn things about rivers and water, but it expanded my vocabulary--I can now use words like Thalweg in a sentence and not only sound like I know what I'm talking about, but actually do. Primarily though, I learned what it is to be adventurous, brave, knowledgeable, and masterful on a subject and lifestyle I would never have tackled on my own. Miss Lawton's ability to express in detail what being a river guide entails, plus her ability to convey her love and respect of nature, draws the reader in and allows a vicarious ride-along that is both tranquil and high excitement at various times. A life well lived, a story well told, and a book well written. Higher praise I cannot say.

[Jann · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend wrote this. She is a beautiful writer. The subject matter is very dear to me.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lawton makes a reader WANT to be on the water. She makes her descriptions of nature and the river work as wonderful metaphors for how we live life.

[Deborah Taylor-French · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book chronicles the adventures and life of Rebecca Lawton, who was employed as a river guide in the Grand Canyon. Lawton, a scientist, notices and draws the reader's eye to details of the river she paddled on. After leading groups in kayaks and rafts, she memorized sections of the terrane, danger spots, seasonal changes, and the character of an ever-changing body of water. Her writing quickly engrossed me in each beautifully described waterborne trip. I tasted, smelled, and felt each movement of her boat. I suffered the sudden storms and strategies she used to survive or get her passengers to safety.

I love how she wove memoir and river knowledge into one wonderful book. I gave a copy to my sister, who does not read for pleasure, my sister read and enjoyed this book, a testament to Lawton's keen observations, fluid writing, and personally engaging narrative. I loved this book.

[Janée Baugher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author writes well of her river-lust and being a guide in the rivers of Utah, Colorado, and California. Lovely descriptive, lyrical moments. She has a working knowledge of the unique language of river-work and wilderness. Confident, musical, muscular language. Lots here to envy and imitate--a certain quietude complete with philosophy and naturalistic spirituality. SUPERB.

[Lisa Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong female whitewater boater

She weaves her story through the currents of rivers and the lives connected through love of rivers and whitewater adventure. I enjoyed this book written by a woman who defined her own place within the river community! Thanks for sharing!