Author: Angie Cruz

Page Count: 208

Published: September 13, 2022

ISBN: 9781250208453

Cara Romero thought she would work at the factory of little lamps for the rest of her life. But when, in her mid-50s, she loses her job in the Great Recession, she is forced back into the job market for the first time in decades. Set up with a job counselor, Cara instead begins to narrate the story of her life. Over the course of twelve sessions, Cara recounts her tempestuous love affairs, her alternately biting and loving relationships with her neighbor Lulu and her sister Angela, her struggles with debt, gentrification and loss, and, eventually, what really happened between her and her estranged son, Fernando. As Cara confronts her darkest secrets and regrets, we see a woman buffeted by life but still full of fight.

Structurally inventive and emotionally kaleidoscopic, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water is Angie Cruz’s most ambitious and moving novel yet, and Cara is a heroine for the ages.

A Most Anticipated Book (The New York Times, The Washington Post, Good Morning America, The TODAY Show, Real Simple, Goodreads, BookRiot, Oprah Daily, Bustle, The Millions, PopSugar, AV Club, LitHub, Ms. Magazine, AARP, Kirkus Reviews, Katie Couric Media, Brit + Co)

“Will have you LAUGHING line after line...Cruz AIMS FOR THE HEART, and fires.” —Los Angeles Times

"An endearing portrait of a FIERCE, FUNNY woman." —The Washington Post

“Taut and poignant…Luckily for us, Cara is an oversharer…drawing us in with her magnetic storytelling and breezy self-confidence…In projecting Cara’s voice, Cruz prioritizes the importance of seeing an individual’s humanity even within the most impersonal of systems…Like the novel itself, Cara resists classification. More than a job, or a cure, she requires a patient audience with whom she can share her most intimate secrets.”—The New York Times Book Review (cover review)

“So good. Wow. I've laughed so much already. Cara is hands down becoming one of my favorite characters. This is a page-turner for sure.”
—Saraciea Fennell, editor of Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed

“Write this down: Cara Romero is going to steal your heart. Such a beautiful, funny, tender, and empowering story. And what a nuanced portrayal of motherhood.”
—Cleyvis Natera, author of Neruda on the Park