REVIEW: “We All Want Impossible Things” by Catherine Newman

“I would give anything to keep you,” I say through the sob that’s gathering in my throat, and she says, “I know you would. I would give anything to stay.”
Ash

SPOILER-FREE PLOT

Edi has been Ash’s best friend since childhood. Effectively, Edi is one of the greatest loves of Ash’s life. They have, and will always be inseperable – even now that Edi is on hospice with advanced ovarian cancer.

This is a story of their friendship.

READ THIS IF:

You’re in the mood for a short, impactful, soul-touching read.
You’ve ever lost a loved one — and you’re emotionally ready to read literature that centers around loss.

MY THOUGHTS:

This will probably end up being one of my favorite books of all time.

I will also never be able to read it again.

Someone described this book to me as : “It’ll make you cry and laugh at the same time” and that couldn’t be more true.

The emotions it stirred in me by the near-perfect parallels it created with my own experience with my mother-in-law in hospice genuinely hurt at times – but it also made me cry with laughter and joy.

I respect Catherine Newman so much. She has given me, and every grieving reader, the warmest, sweetest, most selfless hug. If there was ever a book about personal loss worth reading – it’s this one.

This novel is a love letter to anyone who has lost a loved one.

Its creation is an act of compassion and humanity.

I adored it.

I absolutely freaking adored it.

I will forever picture this book with heart eyes, sprinkled with glitter.