Friday, March 29, 2024

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman



Reviewed by Kristin

Ash and Edi have been best friends for 42 years. From feeding the nursery school class Venus flytrap together, to marriages and children, they have been there for each other. Now, Edi has advanced ovarian cancer, and Ash will do anything to help. Anything. The idea of life without Edi is unimaginable.

When the Sloan Kettering doctors say that there is nothing else to do, Edi’s husband Jude starts calling hospices in New York City, only to find that there are waiting lists. What? Do they not understand the immediate need for care in a a hospice situation?

Ash lives in a little town in western Massachusetts where the Graceful Shepherd Hospice does have space for a patient. It’s a crazy idea and Jude is heartbroken at the idea of having his wife so far away, but there are few options. Edi and Jude have a young son who has already been upset by seeing his mother deteriorating. Edi wants Dash to remember her as her whole self, not the shell she is becoming.

Ash’s goal is to be with Edi, to enjoy their time together, and to be there for the ugly parts too. Bodily fluids, brain fog, and weakness must be taken into account, and Ash is there for her friend. While being strong in front of Edi, Ash is also being torn apart by the pain of losing her best friend. She engages in some outrageous bed-hopping behavior. Even if her 17-year-old daughter Belle doesn’t understand, (and unfortunately happens to catch Mom in some of those particular beds) everyone has different coping mechanisms.

This cleverly writen story of two best friends and all their family living in the liminal space of anticipatory grief is told with much love and humor. Ash and Edi find joy, even as they know their time together is coming to an end. The characters are well developed, though Edi’s life story is told more through Ash as she goes through their memories together. Strong family connections hold them all together, even as they face an enormous loss.

This is Catherine Newman’s first adult book. Another novel entitled Sandwich is being published in June 2024.

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