We All Want Impossible Things
Catherine Newman
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, the Madonna phase, REM concerts, unexpected wakes, marriages, infertility, children. As Ash notes, 'Edi's memory is like the back-up hard drive for mine.'So when Edi is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Ash's world reshapes around the rhythms of Edi's care, from chipped ice and watermelon cubes to music therapy; from snack smuggling to impromptu excursions into the frozen winter night. Because life is about squeezing the joy out of every moment, about building a powerhouse of memories, about learning when to hold on, and when to let go.
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
I didn’t realize that Catherine Newman wrote the advice column at Real Simple that I read and loved for years! Very cool to see she’s written fiction as well.
There was lots to love in this story — Ash and Edi, best friends for over forty years, spend the final days of Edi’s life together in hospice. Surrounded by a close-knit cast of characters with tons of shared history, they rehash memories that are beautiful, funny, and sad. Most of all, the story focuses on Ash coming to terms with the loss of her best friend. If you’ve ever had a friend like this, I imagine it would feel like losing a limb to not have them around. I’d be completely unseated by not having that person there anymore (even though I’m the one with the hard drive memory).
The tone reminded me a little of The Family Stone initially (East Coast quirky) and Newman’s writing style drew me in.
By the end, some of the observations became a little repetitive and... too quirky-cute? There isn’t much plot (it’s a book about dying after all) and more focused on the mental aspect of processing death.
My reading tastes have shifted this past year, and this affirmed that I’m less into “slice of life” stories right now. Watching that evolution unfold has been fun, and it’s nice to be reminded to trust my instincts about what does and doesn’t work for me.
0 0