Peace Like a River

This article is about the novel by Leif Enger. For the song written by Paul Simon, see Paul Simon (album) Peace Like a River (2001) is a best-selling novel by Leif Enger, who took the title from the lyrics of the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul", which was performed at his wedding. Enger wrote the novel to amuse his family, taking story suggestions from his children and giving the lead character asthma to encourage one of his sons, who also has ast... more

This article is about the novel by Leif Enger. For the song written by Paul Simon, see Paul Simon (album) Peace Like a River (2001) is a best-selling novel by Leif Enger, who took the title from the lyrics of the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul", which was performed at his wedding. Enger wrote the novel to amuse his family, taking story suggestions from his children and giving the lead character asthma to encourage one of his sons, who also has asthma. A film version written by Kathy McWorter is scheduled for release in 2009. The novel is narrated by Reuben Land, an eleven-year-old boy suffering from severe asthma who lives with his unusual family in a small Minnesota town in 1962. His mother abandoned the family years before; his younger sister and best friend, Swede, writes epic poetry at age eight; and his father, Jeremiah, a school janitor, is a man of faith who quietly performs miracles – one of which is to bring Reuben to life after he is born dead. The Lands' quiet lives are... less