Mathilda is devastated and angry at his departure and decides to move back to the mainland and into the old house of her late parents.

Amanda is persuaded to take a rest from her nursing job, and travels back to the family farm to stay with her sister and niece.

Sometime in the night, Amanda changes her mind about Mathilda raising the baby and tries to leave the island by walking across the ice with the child.

Amanda tries desperately to pull her out, but can't do it without falling in, so Mathilda bites her sister's finger to force her to let go and leave her to drown in the freezing water.

The woman is so taken with the child, and so amazed at the situation that she doesn't notice that both Ruth and Amanda are frozen and wearing nightgowns.

Christina Schwarz began working on the characters for Drowning Ruth in 1989,[3] drawing inspiration from what she called a "Boo Radleyish" neighbor from her childhood, who was largely a recluse and was rumored to have shot at children who trespassed onto her property.

[4] Having received her Master's degree from Yale University, Schwarz began teaching at a private high school.

[5] Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, the agent who received it, found the submission "irresistible" and asked that the rest be sent urgently.

[7] The foreign rights were also sold to publishers in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark.

[9] The book had an initial and second run of 25,000 each, and publicity director Allison Rich announced in October 2000 that an additional 750,000 copies would be sent to press.

[6] Calling the work a "brilliantly understated psychological thriller," Publishers Weekly said that "Schwarz deftly uses first-person narration to heighten the drama.

"[10] Paul Gray with Time called her work an "unusually deft and assured first novel [that] conveys a good deal more than thrills and chills.

[11] While conceding that "it is not hard to see why Drowning Ruth became a bestseller in the United States," Lisa Allardice writing for the U.K. publication New Statesman called the story "intriguing, if predictable.

"[13] Similarly, Diane Simon of People said that "if your taste runs to miraculous coincidences and primal emotions, you're in good company with Ruth.

[15] Miramax bought the movie rights with plans for Wes Craven to direct the project, even before the book was released.