We All Want Impossible Things

No one knows you like your best friend...From the New York Times bestselling author, the powerful Richard & Judy Book Club pick

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

'Nora-Ephron-style wit... one of my favourite books ever' MARIAN KEYES

'Newman writes loss and laughter in equally brilliant amounts.' BONNIE GARMUS

'Dazzling, heart-wrenching, snorty-hilarious.' 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

From the bestselling author of We All Want Impossible Things and Wreck, a brilliant funny, astute and emotionally relatable novel about family and how change it changes over time

‘Sandwich is joy in book form.’ ANN PATCHETT

'Engaging, frank, funny and moving' Daily Mail

‘You’ll be screenshotting paragraphs of this heartbreakingly honest novel to send to your friends’ Real Simple

‘A protagonist like Rocky is so necessary, because a whole generation will now be able to read this wise and exquisitely written story and say I know how you feel.’ Guardian

****

One week by the beach in their favourite spot, the perfect family holiday. What could possibly go wrong?

For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape.

The humble, quirky beach house they rent has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, shared mishaps and memories. It is a place where her family comes together and Rocky wants to cling to every moment.

Now, sandwiched between her children who are adult enough to be fun but still young enough to need her, and her parents who are ageing but healthy, Rocky wants to preserve this precious moment of balance for ever.

But life is always full of surprises and this week will be no exception. With her body in open revolt and surprises invading her peaceful haven, the seesaw of Rocky’s life is tipping towards change…

Praise for SANDWICH:

‘If you are after a book to pack on your next holiday, look no further. Here is a novel which will go down as easily as a chilled poolside drink’ i Newspaper

‘A wonderful book about how families love, disagree, fail one another - and endure’ Rachel Joyce, bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

‘I stand in awe… it’s just perfect’ Elin Hilderbrand, bestselling author of Swan Song and The Perfect Couple

‘Astute emotional insight and an infectious sense of humour. A gem of a novel’ Observer

‘I adored this novel and am forcing it on everyone I know - Jenny Colgan, author of The Summer Skies

‘Newman is truly a master of taking complex and chaotic human emotion and making sense of it’ Guardian

‘If you want to laugh out loud, tear up and rush to pull out a book in the 35 seconds between subway stops, this sweet, savory, tenderhearted Sandwich fits the bill, and goes down like (bread and) buttah’ New York Times

DISCOVER THE NEW NOVEL BY CATHERINE NEWMAN - WRECK: 'The kind of book that pulls up a chair, pours the wine, and dives deep' Alison Espach, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding People

New York Times bestseller, July 2024

* Covers may vary