The Weight of Water (Paperback)

Rachel and Talia Fontenot are sisters born into brutal, rural poverty of southeastern Louisiana in the 1960s. Raised by relatives, they become fiercely devoted to one another until tragic circumstances intervene. They are separated, Talia disappearing into a life of drugs and petty crime, Rachel fleeing to New Orleans. It is now present-day, and Talia has been missing for many years. Rachel is living in New Orleans and married to the CEO of the Southeast's largest provider of long-term healthcare. She is living what appears to be a perfect life. Still, underneath, she struggles with constant anxiety, prescription drug abuse, and grief over the loss of her sister and a son to an accident several years earlier. One night she receives a call from a nurse she's not heard from since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The information she receives sets in motion a series of events that will unravel her life, force her to examine past choices, and take her on a psychologically arduous journey to save her sister. Set against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina, The Weight of Water tells the story of two sisters, their love for one another, and their struggle to survive and overcome the consequences of one of the greatest disasters in human history.