Greg Fields Knihy

The narrative explores the contrasting journeys of Conor Finnegan, a charismatic overachiever, and Tom McIlweath, a shy individual seeking acceptance. As their paths intertwine over several years, Finnegan grapples with the consequences of his ambition and unwavering ideals, while McIlweath faces uncertainty about his future. Their experiences with love, friendship, and personal growth lead them to different realizations, ultimately setting them on divergent paths shaped by their distinct expectations and life choices.

"I was hungry, seeing myself starving for want of something I could not define. I sought it constantly, sought it at every turn, searched every face I met for hints of it, looked everywhere I could conceive. I lost time trying to slake this unquenchable thirst, trying to satisfy an endlessly burning hunger. But in the end I knew precisely what I had been after all along. It is the folly of the young, part of their particular curse, to be so unaware, to be blind as well as hungry. To be in exile from themselves and not know they are away." Haunted by lost loves and limping through a lifeless career, Conor Finnegan's discontent mirrors the restlessness of his grandfather Liam, caught as a young man in the crossfire of the Irish Civil War. Drawing from Liam's wisdom and courage, Conor seeks to reinvent his character and reclaim passions made numb by neglect and loss. Through the Waters and the Wild addresses the timeless questions, "Where shall I go now? What shall I do?"