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Go as a River Audiobook By Shelley Read cover art

Go as a River

A Novel

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Go as a River

By: Shelley Read
Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
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INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

Set amid Colorado’s wild beauty, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter. A tragic and uplifting novel of love and loss, family and survival—and hope—for listeners of Great Circle,The Four Winds, and Where the Crawdads Sing.

Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family’s peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado—the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses.

Victoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known. She flees into the surrounding mountains where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change, she also charts the changes in herself, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland—its ranches, farms, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations.

Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s, Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home—where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river—gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed.

©2023 Shelley Read (P)2023 Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks
Small Town & Rural Coming of Age Women's Fiction Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Tearjerking Genre Fiction Feel-Good

Critic reviews

“Beautiful . . . A striking first novel of love and strength and growth, set against the forests and rivers of Colorado’s high country. Read is a gifted writer, and the book is a literary triumph.”Denver Post

“With gorgeous descriptions of the great outdoors, an illicit love story, and an unforgettable protagonist, Go as a River offers something for everyone.”Real Simple

“Shelley Read creates a truly convincing and lovable character in Torie, who faces loss and despair, and has to make a decision which is driven by love, yet tragic for herself. It’s a captivating novel, impossible to put down and one which will be remembered long after reading it.—Irish Examiner

Beautiful Storytelling • Emotional Journey • Masterful Narration • Vivid Descriptions • Historical Backdrop

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This book felt like a strange overview of someone’s life with barely any details to make you care about any specific part of it. The details it did contain were all about mundane things, while the actual happenings seemed to be skimmed over. At the beginning you think maybe it’s going to be a love story but all the characters get removed from the story one by one without making a mark on you or even on the story. I had to listen to it at 1.7 speed just to finish it and make it move along.

Boring

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What an amazing book! Resilience love motherhood it was unbelievable I thought the narration was great I thought the story was beautiful there’s nothing bad I can say about this book or the performance!! A must read /listen !!

Amazing heartwarming beautiful

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This book was chosen for my book group. I’m so glad that I listened to it, because I was able to visualize all of the nature and beauty, and also the sadness and pain so well. I highly recommend it!

Beautifully written & read!!

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☆☆☆☆☆ this book was absolutely outstanding!!!! what a powerful story! I didn't want it to end. absolutely a must read!!!!

what an emotional journey

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I have never felt so moved by the story as this one by Shelley Read. It was most beautiful, weaving nature in with life itself. It will stay with me for a long time. Shelley made the characters come alive, and they spoke to me just like the River spoke to the characters in the book. Thank you, Shelley.

Never ending love

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