The perfect gift? A Penguin Shop gift card

We All Want Impossible Things

Discover the powerful Richard & Judy Book Club pick

'Gorgeously tender and so deeply loving' NUSSAIBAH YOUNIS, bestselling author of Fundamentally

'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.

To read more by CATHERINE NEWMAN, discover the NYT bestseller, SANDWICH, and her new novel WRECK: 'Beautiful, funny, wry, relatable and uplifting… I LOVE her work' Marian Keyes
_______

Praise for We All Want Impossible Things:

'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 a tender, funny, life-affirming joy' MARIE CLAIRE, 'Best Books of 2023'

'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' OBSERVER

'Utterly life-affirming and joyful' RED

'One of the best novels on friendship I've ever read' AJ PEARCE

'An absolute masterpiece in characterisation... utterly beautiful.' JOANNA CANNON

Gorgeously tender and so deeply loving

NUSSAIBAH YOUNIS, bestselling author of FUNDAMENTALLY

About Catherine Newman

Catherine Newman is the New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich and We All Want Impossible Things, which was also chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club. She is also the author of the memoirs Catastrophic Happiness and Waiting for Birdy, and the bestselling children's book How to be a Person. She is a regular contributor to the New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine, Cup of Jo, and many other publications. She writes the Substack newsletter Crone Sandwich and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her family.
Details
  • Imprint: Transworld Digital
  • ISBN: 9781529193862
  • Length: 240 pages
  • Price: £0.99
All editions