April 20, 2024 / 10:10 AM EDT / CBS News Grove/Atlantic We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article. Dr. Abraham Verghese teaches medical students at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. But he has another calling: author. His novel “The Covenant of Water” (Grove/Atlantic), a multi-generational tale of a family in India experiencing love and tragedy, was a New York Times bestseller, and an Oprah’s Book Club pick. Read an excerpt below, and don’t miss Tracy Smith’s interview with Abraham Verghese on “CBS Sunday Morning” April 21! “The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese Prefer to listen? Audible has a 30-day free trial available right now. 1900, Travancore, South India She is twelve years old, and she will be married in the morning. Mother and daughter lie on the mat, their wet cheeks glued together. “The saddest day of a girl’s life is the day of her wedding,” her mother says. “After that, God willing, it gets better.” Soon she hears her mother’s sniffles change to steady breathing, then to the softest of snores, which in the girl’s mind seem to impose