Water Finds a Way a Novel

"This beautiful debut is a must-read for anyone who craves richly-hewn characters, a stunning setting, and a story that grips you until the very end. Set in a small town on the coast of Maine, the story follows Blake, a woman who has built a tough exterior persona to survive a life of unspeakable trauma. When she is released from prison, she makes her way back to her adopted home by the sea in Maine where she must face one of the most painful chapters of her life. There, she connects with two families who have complicated pasts. Blake becomes an integral part of their lives and a source of healing for those who are closest to her. But when her darkest secrets are revealed, her right to remain is challenged.

Every character Meghan Perry has created feels undeniably real. From their flaws and triumphs to their mistakes and breakthroughs, they will captivate you from the first page and stay with you until long after you finish reading."--Elizabeth de Veer, author of The Ocean in Winter

"Meghan Perry paints the weathered landscape of a small coastal Maine town and its hard-knock world of lobster fishing in a way that's moody, earth-toned, nuanced, and completely immersive. This is a story of love that sprouts from dark crevices inside tortured people, for whom, despite or because of their brokenness, we quickly come to care. Bringing to mind Jane Austen's Persuasion with its unbridled romanticism of enduring injustice on the way to forgiveness, WATER FINDS A WAY disturbs and soothes, breaks and mends our hearts, and reminds us to look beneath appearances for the light of the human soul."--River Adams, National Jewish Book Award finalist in fiction (2024)

"In this gripping debut novel, Perry navigates one woman's reckoning with unspeakable trauma and her will to move beyond the demons of her past. With vivid storytelling and evocative prose, Perry draws readers into the heart of a Maine fishing village, where struggles abound, and the sea both sustains and threatens. Despite dark turns, Water Finds a Way is a tale of resilience and hope. Long after the final page is turned, Perry's narrative continues to resonate, offering a poignant testament to the power of human connection, the strength of community, and the healing forces of nature." --Gigi Georges, author of Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America

"Much like the alternately desolate and starkly beautiful Nothern Maine coast to which ex-con Blake returns for a new start, Meghan Perry's riveting and richly observed debut takes us on a serpentine journey of despair and hope. Not afraid to confront the roiling messiness of life, Water Finds a Way, will have you holding your breath until you resurface at its satisfying end."--Belle Brett, author of Gina in the Floating World