The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Walter, Jess. We Live in Water. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2013.

We Live in Water is a collection comprised of 12 fiction stories and one personal essay.

“Anything Helps” follows a recovering alcoholic and drug addict named Wayne “Bit” Bittinger. He is homeless, and he struggles to remain sober for any extended period of time. Wayne hopes to maintain long-term sobriety so that he can regain custody of his son, who is living in a foster home.

“We Live in Water” follows Oren Dessens in the year 1958. He is a World War Two veteran, and he recently caused offense to a dangerous local criminal. The criminal, Ralph Bannen decides to kill Oren. Before Oren’s death, Oren asks his friend Flett to keep the circumstances of Oren’s death a secret. In 1992, Oren’s son Michael is about 40 years old. He asks the now elderly Flett about his father. Flett withholds the truth from Michael.

In “Thief,” the protagonist is a man named Wayne. He is married and has three children. When he discovers that some money is missing from the family’s vacation fund, he becomes suspicious that one of his children is the thief. Wayne becomes fixated on the theft. He also guiltily remembers when he was a child and stole some money from his own father.

In “Can a Corn,” a man named Tommy is responsible for bringing his incarcerated stepfather to dialysis treatments each week. One day, at the stepfather’s insistence, the two of them go fishing instead of to the dialysis appointment.

“Virgo” follows a man named Trent, who has psychological issues that inhibit his ability to connect with other people. He briefly dates a woman named Tanya, who then decides to break up with him. Trent begins stalking her. Trent works at the local newspaper, and he knows that Tanya likes to read her daily horoscope in the paper. He begins sending her messages by rewriting her horoscope.

“Helpless Little Things” follows a cynical scam artist named Danny. One day, Danny begins to develop some sympathy for a homeless teenager named Julie. Eventually, Danny realizes that Julie is scamming him and purposely eliciting a sense of sympathy from him. Even after Julie successfully steals tens of thousands of dollars from Danny, Danny feels a new capacity for compassion towards other people.

In “Please,” Tommy shares custody of his son with Carla, the boy’s mother. Carla is a drug addict. Tommy asks Carla to leave their son with him if she is going to continue to do drugs.

“Don’t Eat Cat” takes place an unstated number of years in the future. The world appears to be in danger of complete collapse. There are many widespread problems, including the possibility of ecological collapse. Also, the widespread distribution of a faulty drug has caused many people to suffer brain damage. After the protagonist, Owen, is diagnosed with fatal cancer, he decides to go search for his ex-girlfriend, who was one of the people affected by the drug.

“The New Frontier” follows a man named Nick. He is recently divorced, and although he graduated from law school, he failed the bar exam. The story is set in 2003, and Nick’s friend Bobby is about to be deployed to Iraq as part of the U.S. Air Force. However, Bobby recently discovered evidence that Bobby’s estranged stepsister, Lisa, may be living in Las Vegas. Nick agrees to accompany Bobby to Las Vegas to look for Lisa.

“The Brakes” follows Tommy, who also appears in “Can a Corn” and “Please.” Tommy’s stepfather has recently died. Tommy works as a mechanic, and he brings his son to work with him one day. A possibly senile old woman named Mrs. Gerraghty arrives to have her car fixed. The mechanics often cheat her out of money, and they feel no remorse since Mrs. Gerragthy is openly racist. However, Tommy begins to feel remorse, and he persuades his coworkers to stop scamming her.

“The Wolf and the Wild” follows a very wealthy financial analyst named Wade McAdam. Wade has recently been convicted of embezzlement, but he receives only a light community service sentence. His service involves tutoring children at a local public school. Wade begins to feel very fulfilled by this work, and he begins to realize that altruism is more fulfilling than selfishness.

“Wheelbarrow Kings” follows two homeless drug addicts as they try to acquire money for food. They find a man who is giving away an old television set. The two men find a wheelbarrow and use it to transport the old television to a pawnshop. The shop owner is uninterested in buying the television, but he gives the men $15 in exchange for the wheelbarrow.

“Statistical for My Hometown of Spokane, Washington” is a nonfiction personal essay. In the essay, Jess Walter writes about the city of Spokane, Washington, where he has resided for his entire life. Walter grew up in a fairly impoverished household. He used to feel disdain towards Spokane for the relative prevalence of poverty in the city. However, he eventually realized that it is immoral to look down on people/places due to poverty, and that it is better to actively participate in addressing societal problems.