Angie Cruz

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 Novel

How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

Laura Wilson

Sometimes life feels very small and other times it feels very rich. And when it feels small I think it’s because I don’t let myself, you know, enjoy the life.

“How many years have you known your personal reference?	

“Desahogar: to undrown, to cry until you don’t need to cry no more.”

“Sometimes life feels very small and other times it feels very rich. And when it feels small I think it’s because I don’t let myself, you know, enjoy the life.”

How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water quotes

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