We All Want Impossible Things

Beloved from the moment it appeared, this is a raucous, poignant celebration of life, love, and friendship at its imperfect and radiant best.“Gorgeous, tender, and unexpectedly funny. I read the entirety of Edi and Ash’s story with my hand clasped over my heart.”—Kate Baer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Kind of Woman and I Hope This Finds You Well

Edi and Ash have been best friends for over forty-two years. They’ve shared the mundane and the momentous together: trick-or-treating and binge-drinking; Gilligan’s Island reruns and R.E.M. concerts; hickeys and heartbreak; surprise Scottish wakes; marriages, infertility, and children. As Ash says, “Edi’s memory is like the backup hard drive for mine.”But now the unthinkable has happened. Edi is dying of ovarian cancer and spending her last days at a hospice near Ash, who stumbles into heartbreak surrounded by her daughters, ex(ish)-husband, dear friends, a poorly chosen lover (or two), and a rotating cast of beautifully, fleetingly human hospice characters.As the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack blasts all day long from the room next door, Edi and Ash reminisce, hold on, and try to let go. Meanwhile, Ash struggles with being an imperfect friend, wife, and parent—with life, in other words, distilled to its painful, joyful, and comedic essence.For anyone who’s ever lost a friend or had one, get ready to laugh through your tears.

About the Author

Catherine Newman has written a gazillion columns, articles, and canned-bean recipes for magazines and newspapers, and her essays have been widely anthologized. She is the author of the memoirs Waiting for Birdy and Catastrophic Happiness, the middle-grade novel One Mixed-Up Night, and the bestselling kids’ life-skills books How to Be a Person and What Can I Say? This is her first novel for grown-ups. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.