"The Man Who Walked on Water is a gentle, curious, attentive, and intelligent book. Jacob Beaver sees Southern Appalachia through fresh eyes, and he's got a wonderfully straightforward approach to the old problem of being a hurt person in a beautiful world. I loved it."
— James Whorton Jr, author of Frankland and Approximately Heaven
"Beaver writes well with very vivid descriptions of people, places, and states of mind. Unexpected, strangely satisfying, and great fun!"
— Lisa Alther, author of About Women and Kinflicks
When a newspaper in East Tennessee reports that a man has walked on water, a cynical English journalist sees a chance to boost his career. He plans to make a film about religious belief in the Appalachian Mountains, centered on the backwoods pastor who performed the "miracle." The journalist persuades his depressive brother to accompany the film crew to America, and it is this brother who tells the story. Ten years have passed. Now living happily in North Carolina, he recounts how the trip turned his life upside down, leading him to see the hand of God in the most unexpected place.
Jacob Beaver was born in Kenya and grew up in England. He lived in London for twenty years, working in publishing and as an editor at the Royal College of Art. In 2007 he married in East Tennessee, where he now lives.
His personal essays have appeared in the London Review of Books, British magazines, and elsewhere.
The Man Who Walked on Water is his first book.
