The Body Is Water

by Julie Schumacher

First published 1995

An expectant mother travels back to the New Jersey coastal resort where she grew up. She faces the unfinished business of her childhood alongside two complicated family members: her gruff father and her intellectually gifted older sister. The three of them must navigate their shared history and the lingering wound of losing their wife and mother too soon. As summer unfolds in the familiar seaside setting, old dynamics resurface and new understanding becomes possible. The woman grapples with impending motherhood while wrestling with the absence that has shaped her family for years. Schumacher's debut explores how grief moves through generations and how the prospect of new life forces a reckoning with loss.

Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama

Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking

Tropes: family-drama, found-family

Setting: New Jersey

Period: contemporary

Hardcover · Soho Pr Inc

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