We All Want Impossible Things

A Novel

By: Catherine Newman

Narrated by: Jane Oppenheimer

Look for Wreck, the new novel by Catherine Newman—a deeply moving story of laughter and heart, about marriage, family, and what happens when life doesn’t go as planned—Coming October 2025.

“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.”—New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center

“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. Newman turns her prodigious talents toward finding joy even in the friendship’s final days. I laughed while crying, and was left revived. Newman is a comic masterhand and a dazzling philosopher of the day-to-day.”—Amity Gaige, author of Sea Wife

“The funniest, most joyful book about dying—and living—that I have ever read.”—KJ Dell'Antonia, author of the New York Times bestselling The Chicken Sisters

For lovers of Meg Wolitzer, Maria Semple, and Jenny Offill comes this raucous, poignant celebration of life, love, and friendship at its imperfect and radiant best.

Edith and Ashley 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 REM concerts; hickeys and heartbreak; surprise Scottish wakes; marriages, infertility, and children. As Ash says, “Edi’s memory is like the back-up 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 heartbreaking, joyful, and comedic essence.

For anyone who’s ever lost a friend or had one. Get ready to laugh through your tears.

How does she write exactly what’s been experienced and so completely?

It’s just such a beautiful and real story about the all-consuming effort of love. What stood out is; first love then loss and then grief. The entire journey of dying is, highlighting living. Catherine Newman is becoming my favorite writer. She and I are mental-mates. I’d love to have coffee with her or, a margarita.

In my feels

Love how close this was to reality a reality we all have to face. As a mom, a friend, a wife I loved every minute of this novel !

Beautiful heartbreak

Incredible and utterly heartbreaking. I adore the way Catherine writes about her love, it's so often what I feel but cannot put into words.

Beautifully written story

A sad but realistic tale. This book is beautifully written, both poignant and humorous. The author is very talented and I appreciated the realistic characters.

Emotional read

I enjoyed this book about best friends, loss, and all the things that make us human. The main character, Ash, is self-deprecating and charming, although she’s a bit of a hot mess.
She’s going through a divorce, losing her best friend, and she’s also a loving and kind person who sometimes is too self- absorbed.
As a nurse, I sometimes found the descriptions of the Hospice and medical staff cringey, but I mostly tried to ignore it.
The narrator’s voice captured all of Ash’s emotions perfectly.