Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Tinbil Ermias. When Abraham Verghiz released his debut novel

Cutting for Stone back in 2009, it was an instant hit and it captivated readers. I know this

firsthand. Much of the book takes place in Ethiopia where my parents grew up, and all they could talk about

was just how specific and accurate Verghese's writing was, that he's very skilled at building

a world and bringing it to life. In the covenant of water, Verghiz does much of the same thing.

In it, he takes us to southern India to meet a community that's haunted by a medical

mystery. In this conversation, he talks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about what inspired the novel,

what goes into creating the world of his characters, and how his medical career informs his

writing. In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors. On our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Abraham Verghese is a physician and an author whose books always reflect some part of his life.

His new novel is called The Covenant of Water.

It's his first in more than a decade since the bestseller Cutting for Stone in 2009.

The Covenant of Water is dedicated to Mariama, his mother.

When she was in her 70s, my niece, who is her namesake, asked her Amachi, what was it like when you were a little girl? And my mother

was so taken by that question that she wrote long hand in her wonderful penmanship, a hundred-page

document, you know, with tales of our relatives and stuff we'd all heard as children growing up,

much embellished, of course. That record of generations inspired him.

This book is also about the lineage of one family.

And about a secret that goes back many generations, which is that members of the family,

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