Lovely to see that Falling for Water is being chosen by book clubs. I have put together a brief discussion kit to help enhance readers’ experience. Always happy to answer more questions or make myself available to meet clubs, either in person or via zoom.
Falling for Water by Francesca Cairns (220 pages)
A September 2025 release from Ashwood Publishing, an independent publisher from Cradoc, southern Lutruwita/Tasmania.
Falling for Water is an immersive, mystical story of a young woman’s quest to understand the mystery and gift of her ancestral connection to water, and the powerful influence this has on her life choices.
Overview
Setting: From the suburbs of Melbourne, Kayla journeys deep into the dry tracts of the Australian outback, before travelling to the island of Newfoundland, located in the eastern Canadian Maritimes.
Core themes: Water in all its guises, courage and resilience, women and matrilineal heritage, ancestral memory, earth healing, and the intimate nature of connection.
Discussion Questions
1. Can you remember the first time you felt a deep connection with water?
2. What did you learn about water from this novel?
3.“Always remember, child, that you are this water, and this water is you.” How might you have interpreted these words from your grandma when you were a young child?
4. Kayla’s affinity with water in all its forms leads her to make life/work decisions to help bring about change, but the work leaves her drained physically and emotionally. Have you had the experience of caring so deeply for a cause that it led to exhaustion or despair?
5. Falling for Water has been described as an ‘eco-parable’ (i.e. a narrative that uses symbolic, allegorical, or simple stories to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson regarding the environment). Using this concept, how would you describe this book’s central message? How does this story differ from other eco-fiction you may have read?
6. Kayla crosses the world seeking links to her matrilineal line of inheritance, hoping this will bring understanding of her unusual connection with water. As she travels, the climate and landscape of the story shifts from the dry deserts of Australia to the moist, cool waterways of Newfoundland. What could be the metaphorical interpretation of this shift?
7. The book is described as a “meditation on how to find strength and hope in a damaged world”. By the final pages, did the story leave you feeling optimistic?
8. Some elements in the story, such as Kayla’s vision of Nunik, could be described as ‘magic realism’. In what way did those elements add to the narrative style?
9. Choose one scene or sensory description that immersed you in a new feeling, evoked a memory, or reminded you of your own sensual experience of the world. Which would it be and why?
📚 Other Publications
- Drawing from the Well (2005, Brolga Publishing): Francesca Cairns’s debut novel is set in the arid expanses of the South Australian outback. The story follows Dru McCrae’s return to her remote ancestral home to uncover family secrets, confront family tragedy, and navigate an emotional journey of loss and renewal.
- Kat & Maya (In Progress): Francesca Cairns is currently writing her third fiction book, continuing her focus on deep human connections to place and ancestry.
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Reader Reviews & Critical Reception for Falling for Water
Rating 4.62 on Goodreads:
“An extremely timely and timeless novel, calling for a rewilding of our spirit and the courage to return to what truly matters.”
“It’s a quiet and powerful tale of water, of spirit, of the earth, of lineage and of belonging.”
“This book is a stunning celebration of nature, ancestry, and inner strength. Kayla’s connection to water feels magical and profoundly real, and her journey from Australia to Newfoundland is filled with wisdom, emotion, and gentle spirituality.”
“What a delightful read….
Falling for Water by Francesca Cairns is very well written and easy to read. It is a gentle book broaching on topical subjects facing us and our planet. It inspires warmth and hope and my hope is there will be a followup as I would love to read more of Kayla’s adventures.”
Francesca Cairns 