We All Want Impossible Things

Rather a treat ... this novel is less about death than it is about life - the messy unpredictability, hideous unfairness and perplexity of it, as well as its one magnificent certainty: love.

Remarkable ... A whip-smart, funny, beautifully observed and exquisitely characterised novel about how even the deepest of losses can be accompanied by a joyous affirmation of life.

Imbued with love and humour ... this special book is in a class of its own.

Newman's clearsighted and bracingly funny first novel is a moving celebration of friendship, love and cherished memories

I adored this book. Jubilant, devastating, tender, heartbreaking, I found myself both in tears and 'snorty-laughing'. I know it will be one of those novels I return to time and time again, and recommend to everyone. There is so much love, funniness, honesty, courage, mess, bounce and surprise in this book, and not shred of it is mawkish. Loss might be the central theme but it is also the most robust and glorious affirmation of life. A masterclass on friendship, family love, memory, and the messiness of life and love and dying. Pure genius.

Breezy New York Nora-Ephron-style wit meets hospice memoir to create something profoundly beautiful...comforting, so funny, moving but never mawkish and packed with all kinds of love. It's one of my favourite books ever.

Tragically funny, with moments of clarity and wisdom, Newman writes loss and laughter in equally brilliant amounts.

BONNIE GARMUS, author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY

I have heard nothing but good things about [We All Want Impossible Things] and they were all quite right - it's so warm and funny and full of great observations ... it looks set for rip-roaring success, deservedly so!

CLARE CHAMBERS, author of SMALL PLEASURES

Gloriously funny, utterly heartbreaking, and really just brilliant, We All Want Impossible Things is one of the best novels on friendship I've ever read. I loved it.

Smart and funny and devastating, We All Want Impossible Things has huge Sorrow and Bliss vibes and I didn't want it to end.

Devastatingly humorous and humorously devastating, We All Want Impossible Things is an unbelievably brilliant and funny book about friendship, family, food, sex, and death. Catherine Newman serves up a masterclass in narrative - you'll stay up late devouring every word.

KATHERINE HEINY, author of EARLY MORNING RISER and STANDARD DEVIATION

I absolutely adored this...what a beautiful, emotional novel it is, both heart-breaking and heart mending, with flawed, oh-so-human characters and events extolling the joy and pain of love, loss and life-long friendship.

Heart-breaking and heart-warming in equal measure, We All Want Impossible Things is shot through with whip-smart humour and boundless compassion. It's one of the best debuts I've read in a long time.

Funny and tender and life affirming and quite simply GLORIOUS....The way the friendship is depicted in this story is a masterpiece... To say I have been deeply moved by this book would be an understatement. My heart is broken after finishing it this morning but it is also singing.

A riotously funny and fiercely loyal love letter to female friendship. The story of Edi and Ash proves that a best friend is a gift from the gods.... I laughed while crying, and was left revived. Newman is a comic masterhand and a dazzling philosopher of the day-to-day.

We All Want Impossible Things is one of those books I will be buying for everyone I know. A funny, moving, beautifully written book, I laughed and cried in equal measure. It is both a unique and wise take on friendship, love and loss that will stay with me for a very long time.

JENNIE GODFREY, author of THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS

The funniest, most joyful book about dying - and living - that I have ever read.

K J DELL'ANTONIA, author of the New York Times bestselling THE CHICKEN SISTERS

For the last two days I have done nothing but read this book or think longingly about when I can return to reading this book. It's sad, and confronting, and comforting, and life-affirming all at the same time. Congrats, Catherine Newman, on an astonishing debut.

KATIE BISHOP, author of THE GIRLS OF SUMMER

Catherine Newman sees the heartbreak and comedy of life with wisdom and unflinching compassion. The way she finds the extraordinary in the everyday is nothing short of poetry. She's a writer's writer-and a human's human.

KATHERINE CENTER , New York Times bestselling author

An absolute heartbreaker of a novel. Catherine Newman's book... is a celebration of life. For anyone who has prepared a hole in their heart for loss, We All Want Impossible Things is a reminder that, in time, that hollowed hallowed space is also there for when the light and love pour back in.

LAURA ZIGMAN, author of SEPARATION ANXIETY

How did Catherine Neman write a book about dying that is so luminously alive? Earthy, funny, and terrifyingly honest - this is a book with heart and guts and all the other goopy gravt we need to stay among the living. A radical delight.

Newman perfectly captures the beauty and burden of caring for someone in their final moments while showing the gift of Edi and Ash's once-in-a-lifetime friendship. A warm and remarkably funny book that will make readers laugh through their tears.

This is a proper laugh-out-loud tale of friendship that will utterly win your heart ... A truly special book - prepare to read this, fall in love and then hector everyone you know into reading it.

Devastatingly funny ... handled with compassion and courage in elegant prose lightened by honest humour.

We All Want Impossible Things is a thing of rare beauty: sweet and sharp, to be devoured, then remembered and loved life-long.

A celebration of friendship and family

Full of humour, warmth and eye-popping honesty ... a beautiful, candid and uplifting testament to female friendship that will make you laugh and cry

Beautiful and emotional ... heartbreakingly sad, but also full of humour and ultimately about living and love. I will recommend this to everyone.

This is a story about holding on, the power of creating memories and, ultimately, letting go. Tissues at the ready.

Smart dialogue and cutting wit ... an accomplished writer

A profound study of grief, love and friendship that will resonate with anyone who has lost someone special ... there are plenty of funny and touching moments in this beautiful novel that will make your heart soar.

In Newman's hands... this tale of love and friendship is tender, funny, life-affirming joy.

The most wonderful book in the way it celebrates friendship. I highly recommend it.

Impossible not to weep. Yet, we also find ourselves laughing out loud through the tears ... For all the sense of tragedy and loss, we see Ash develop renewed gratitude for the beauty and humour in even the most mundane moments of life.

Full of humour, warmth, and raw honesty ... a beautiful, uplifting testament to female friendship that will make you laugh and cry

Discover the powerful Richard & Judy Book Club Pick, perfect for fans of Nora Ephron and Sorrow and Bliss 
 
'Nora-Ephron-style wit...comforting, so funny, moving... one of my favourite books ever' MARIAN KEYES 
 
'Newman writes loss and laughter in equally brilliant amounts.' BONNIE GARMUS 
 
'Dazzling, heart-wrenching, snorty-hilarious... An utter joy to read' RACHEL JOYCE 
_______ 
 
Who knows you better than your best friend? Who knows your secrets, your fears, your desires, your strange imperfect self? 
 
Edi and Ash have been best friends for over forty years. Since childhood they have seen each other through life's milestones: stealing vodka from their parents, REM concerts, marriages, infertility, children. As Ash notes, 'Edi's memory is like the back-up hard drive for mine.' 
 
So when Edi is diagnosed with cancer, Ash's world reshapes around the rhythms of Edi's care, from making watermelon ice cubes and music therapy to snack smuggling and impromptu excursions into the frozen winter night. 
 
Because life is about squeezing the joy out of every moment and building a powerhouse of memories, about learning when to hold on, and when to let go. 
 
Deeply moving yet laugh-out-loud funny, We All Want Impossible Things is a jubilant celebration of life and friendship at its imperfect, radiant, and irreverent best. 
 
COMING SOON: Look out for SANDWICH, the joyful new novel from Catherine Newman and the perfect summer read 
_______ 
 
Praise for We All Want Impossible Things: 
 
Full of humour, warmth and eye-popping honesty ... a beautiful, candid and uplifting testament to female friendship that will make you laugh and cry - WOMAN & HOME 
 
This tale of love and friendship is tender, funny, life-affirming joy. - MARIE CLAIRE, 'Best Books of 2023' 
 
We All Want Impossible Things is a thing of rare beauty: sweet and sharp, to be devoured, then remembered and loved life-long. – i 
 
Devastatingly funny ... handled with compassion and courage in elegant prose lightened by honest humour. - MAIL ON SUNDAY 
 
A treat - THE SUNDAY TIMES 
 
Remarkable ... A whip-smart, funny, beautifully observed and exquisitely characterised novel about how even the deepest of losses can be accompanied by a joyous affirmation of life. - OBSERVER 
 
Imbued with love and humour ... this special book is in a class of its own. - EVENING STANDARD 
 
Newman's clearsighted and bracingly funny first novel is a moving celebration of friendship, love and cherished memories - DAILY MAIL 
 
Utterly life-affirming and joyful – RED 
 
'You'll stay up late devouring every word' KATHERINE HEINY 
 
'One of the best novels on friendship I've ever read' AJ PEARCE 
 
'An absolute masterpiece in characterisation... utterly beautiful.' JOANNA CANNON 
 
'I absolutely adored this...what a beautiful, emotional novel' JILL MANSELL 
 
'Shot through with whip-smart humour and boundless compassion. It's one of the best debuts I've read in a long time.' HANNAH BECKERMAN

Catherine Newman

Discover the joyful summer read from the bestselling author of WE ALL WANT IMPOSSIBLE THINGS, perfect for fans of Marian Keyes and Nora Ephron 
 
'Sandwich is joy in book form. I laughed continuously, except for the parts that made me cry. Catherine Newman does a miraculous job reminding us of all the wonder there is to be found in life.' ANN PATCHETT, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake 
 
'A piece of perfection… Family, love, secrets, a marriage that is ordinary, imperfect, sexy and beautiful… I laughed, I cried and I laughed some more… a wonderful book about how families love, disagree, fail one another - and endure.' RACHEL JOYCE, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry____________ 
 
One week in Cape Cod. The perfect family holiday. What could possibly go wrong...? 
 
For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their rustic beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, its quirky furniture and mismatched pots and pans greeted like old friends. 
 
Now, sandwiched between her children who are adult enough to be fun but still young enough to need her, and her parents who are alive and healthy, Rocky wants to preserve this golden moment forever. This one precious week when everything is in balance; everything is in flux. 
 
But every family has its secrets and hers is no exception. 
 
With her body in open revolt and surprises invading her peaceful haven, the perfectly balanced seesaw of Rocky’s life is tipping towards change… 
 
____________ 
 
Praise for Catherine Newman’s WE ALL WANT IMPOSSIBLE THINGS: 
 
‘Nora-Ephron-style wit … one of my favourite books ever’ MARIAN KEYES 
 
‘One of the best novels on friendship I've ever read’ AJ PEARCE 
 
‘Newman writes loss and laughter in equally brilliant amounts.’ BONNIE GARMUS 
 
‘An absolute masterpiece in characterisation…utterly beautiful’ JOANNA CANNON 
 
‘Quite simply glorious’ SARAH TURNER 
 
‘An unbelievably brilliant and funny book about friendship, family, food, sex, and death.’ KATHERINE HEINY 
 
‘This is a proper laugh-out-loud tale of friendship that will utterly win your heart’ STYLIST 
 
'A beautiful, uplifting testament to female friendship that will make you laugh and cry.’ WOMAN 
 
‘Remarkable ....whip-smart, funny, beautifully observed.’ OBSERVER 
 
 
We All Want Impossible Things, RIchard and Judy Book Club Pick, Autumn 2023

Catherine Newman

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