Book Review: Where the River Ends, by Charles Martin:
Doss Michael’s wife is dying of cancer. The only thing left on her bucket list is to take a trip down the St. Mary’s River (where Doss spent his childhood) to the sea, and Doss will do anything to make her last days happy. So, the grieving artist gathers up the supplies, steals the medicines necessary to keep Abby out of pain, buys a couple of canoes, and they set off in the middle of the night. Easy, right? It would be, except that Abby’s Senator father is rich, angry, and over-protective. He immediately sics the police on them, claiming that Abby has been kidnapped and that Doss Michael is a monster. They are hounded by thieves, but they also find help in unexpected places. The 130-mile-long river itself conspires against them, and storms drench them as they struggle towards the sea. They lose all their supplies. Everything goes wrong, and yet Doss is determined to fulfill his wife’s last wish.
This was a very moving book, which takes you through a series of flashbacks as Doss remembers his life with Abby, all the while battling the outside forces that conspire to stop them. By the end of the story you understand that this trip was really Abby’s gift to Doss. It is a deep look at what real love means, and the courage it takes to love when everything is against you. Beautifully told.
Carol Nicolas 