To Heaven by Water cover art

To Heaven by Water

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

To Heaven by Water

By: Justin Cartwright
Narrated by: Nigel Anthony
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

David Cross can’t tell Ed or Lucy that he is in some ways happier now that their mother is dead; to his own mind he is more himself than he has been for nearly 40 years. When Nancy was alive, he had secrets that he kept from her. Now that she is dead, he has a secret that he must keep from his children: He is not unhappy.

To Heaven by Water is a touching and hilarious portrait of the Cross family trying to come to terms with the loss of their mother.

©2009 Justin Cartwright (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Witty

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Other People's Money cover art
The Song Before It Is Sung cover art
The Murderer's Son cover art
The Truth About Julia cover art
A Time to Dance cover art
The Smoking Diaries cover art
Bright Lights and Promises cover art
Talking It Over cover art
It Had to Be You cover art
Laidlaw cover art
All stars
Most relevant

Where does To Heaven by Water rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've just listened to this for the second time because I enjoyed it so much the first. Perhaps because I'm in my fifties, it rang a lot of bells. I love the writing - it is unselfconscious and straightforward. And the characters are all believably flawed.

Who was your favorite character and why?

David - because he recognises his failings and just gets on with it.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The elephants attacking the Toyota in the Kalahari.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both

Lovely pensive book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
a slow..steady read.. that is bursting with utter charm and joy..and so moving in many places too. thoroughly enjoyable read.

his clever description of people

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What made the experience of listening to To Heaven by Water the most enjoyable?

I love his writing and Nigel Anthony did a fantastic job-one of the best readers

What other book might you compare To Heaven by Water to, and why?

Previous Justin Cartwright book that I had read-published last year I think-about the financial dynasty

What about Nigel Anthony’s performance did you like?

I just loved the way he could do the female characters too!

Any additional comments?

More Nigel Anthony please

Brilliant writer

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is an entertaining and thought-provoking story. It is very well read. Why isn't Justin Cartwight more popular?

A really good book and performance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.