By turns wry and heart-rending, this first novel by up-and-coming North Carolina writer Nancy Peacock takes the form of an unvarnished reminiscence of growing up during the cultural craziness of the late '60s and early '70s. Life Without Water parts the heavy curtain drawn closed by the Reagan era and takes us back to the summer of love, to a country convulsed by Vietnam, to a generation in search of itself. With the clear-eyed honesty only the very young are capable of, Cedar recounts the story of her childhood in a ramshackle farmhouse in the country outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a household shared - in the fashion of the times - by two adult couples and their three children. In particular, it is the story of Cedar and her mother, Sara, and young Cedar's unflagging - and largely unsuccessful - efforts to help Sara repair the emotional damage done by the death of her beloved brother in Vietnam.