As the fourth novel written by Dominican author Angie Cruz, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water is a kaleidoscopic literary narrative that seeks to capture the hope and disillusionment of the Obama-era United States. The novel also explores the impact of widespread economic hardship by depicting the interactions of working-class immigrants in New York City’s Washington Heights.

As the winner of the 2020 Alex Award for her third novel, Dominicana, Cruz has a reputation for inventive storytelling that explores intersections of gender, nationality, ethnicity, and class. Cruz credits her childhood experiences of both New York and the Dominican Republic as well as her extended family and community for inspiring her characters and stories. How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water explores themes of immigration, gender, identity, and the American Dream.

This guide refers to the 2022 Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain descriptions of domestic abuse. The source text also features derogatory Spanish epithets for gay men.

Plot Summary

The novel is written as a series of session recordings between Cara Romero and her Senior Workforce Program caseworker, interspersed with intimate documents from Cara’s life. At age 26, she has an affair with a man named Cristián and then leaves her abusive husband, Ricardo, who vows to kill her after discovering her affair. Fleeing trauma and death, Cara takes her son, Fernando, and emigrates to the US, promising her sister, Ángela, and her brother, Rafa, that she will send for them. She works for years at a lamp factory and lives in a rent-controlled building in Washington Heights. Due to her fear for Fernando, whose sexual orientation she does not understand, she adopts an authoritarian parenting style that damages their relationship. One day, when Fernando tries to leave the apartment, she throws a heated iron at the door to prevent him from leaving and accidentally strikes him in the face instead, so he runs away. When she looks for him, he gets a restraining order against her. When Cara finds him safe and living with a man named Alexis, she agrees to leave Fernando alone on the condition that Alexis will call her if Fernando is ever in danger.

Cara remains in Washington Heights, where she cares for many people in her building, including her sister Ángela’s children; an old woman called la Vieja Caridad; her neighbor, Tita; her brother, Rafa; and her best friend, Lulú. When the Great Recession strikes, Cara finds herself out of work as the lamp factory outsources labor to Costa Rica. Through an Obama-era program called the Senior Workforce Program, Cara attends sessions with her caseworker, Lissette. These meetings become lengthy therapy sessions that allow Cara to divulge the details of her life and the problems that others rely on her to fix.

One of these problems comes from Lulú, whose son lost his job at the bank and lost his home due to debt. He and his wife, Patricia, have moved in with Lulú, leaving her to care for their children and specifying strict disciplinary instructions that Cara and Lulú struggle to follow. Lulú’s daughter writes angry poetry about her upbringing and does not work.

Meanwhile, Alicia the Psychic, whose letters spam Cara’s email throughout the story, promises wealth and happiness in her future for half the going rate, and gentrification in Washington Heights means that the new building supervisor is cracking down on lease violations. Neighbors like Tita, who must care for her adult daughter with disabilities, are in danger of eviction and need Cara’s help to make ends meet. Cara’s sister Ángela relies on her to watch her children after school, but Ángela dislikes Cara’s parenting methods, and this issue causes unvoiced resentment between the sisters. Cara’s employment benefits will run out by the end of the Senior Workforce Program, and she has incurred medical debts for a crown and cyst removal surgery. Although she is capable and qualified despite her idiosyncratic answers in interviews, none of the jobs that her caseworker offers will allow her to keep her commitments to her community and family. Late rent notices remind her that time is running out.

One day, when Ángela’s son Julio dumps spaghetti onto Lulú’s grandchildren, Cara grabs him and threatens him with a beating just as Ángela enters. Comparing Cara to their abusive mother, Ángela cuts Cara out of her life like Fernando did before her. Then, when a 30-day eviction notice arrives, and Cara cannot pay her back rent, her caseworker encourages her to visit Ángela and apologize. Cara confronts Ángela, and after a fight in the hallway in which they air their resentments, they make amends and plan to secure Cara’s citizenship and pay off her lease.

When Cara returns after walking la Vieja Caridad’s dog, Fidel, she discovers that the old woman has died. La Vieja Caridad leaves Cara $5,600, which covers her back rent and proves that Alicia the Psychic was right about her growing fortune. Cara convinces Lulú to treat her to a makeover at a new salon, where Alexis tells her that Fernando is doing well in his work for a Madison Avenue store. Alexis promises to have Fernando call her. Cara invites Lulú to live with her in Fernando’s old room.

Two months after her program has ended, Cara returns to her caseworker with pastelitos to thank her for listening and continuing to advocate for an extension of her benefits. She likes living with Lulú, and they visit Ángela and the children in Shirley, where Ángela now owns a modest house and yard. Best of all, on Dominican Mother’s Day, Cara discovers a bag of her favorite take-out food with a Mother’s Day note from Fernando. Although Cara’s fate remains uncertain, she is in the US to stay.