There’s a lot that is beautiful about this book. First and foremost, the deep and powerful friendship between the two women. I loved the music therapist too.
However, I felt a bit isolated from the plot due to the writing style. I found the stream of consciousness style confusing. I had to read and reread passages and found I got frustrated. For me, it detracted from the poignant events of the book.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Like other reviewers, I requested this ARC on the strength of the title and cover. It was a bit of a shock then when I began to read and discovered it was like turning on a film to find out you have missed the first half. Trying to work out who the characters are, what they are doing and how they relate to each other, for me, made the first few chapters confusing. There is so much going on! The reader is immediately introduced to the hospice, pallative care and all that is associated with the everyday care. It is not sugar coated in any way and nor should it be. Then there is all the characters! But the writing is sensitive and gives the impression that cancer has been experienced on a personal basis. The thread of the friendship between Edi and Ash is heartwarming and heartwrenching, with the knowledge that one has to continue without the other.
I don't know if I enjoyed this book- it is not what I was expecting, or if I should like it because of the subject it deals with. What I do know is that I would warn readers of the subject matter. The book was well written and readable but not what I was expecting. Thank you to Netgalley and Catherine Newman for the opportunity to read this book.

This books is both lovely and very sad. I found it hard going perhaps because I was in hospital myself at the time of reading I found parts to read. I did enjoy the friendship between the two main characters, their conversations were heartwarming, witty and beautifully written. It is a lovely book full of raw human emotion it is funny in a dark way which I like but I did find it too upsetting to really enjoy.

I have to admit that i slightly struggled with the first few pages of this book. How happy am I that I persevered. It's rendered me slightly lost for words. Except to say it is life affirming, heart wrenching and funny all at once. The friendship between Ash and Edi is so beautifully conveyed, as are all the other characters, the environs of hospice and home, the food, family. Written almost like a brilliant stream of consciousness, taking us back, forwards and sideways this book engulfed me. Highly recommended.

Do not be put off this book because it sounds like it might be depressing and the subject matter challenging- it is a wonderful, life-affirming account of coming to terms with the end of life of a loved one, and how to carry on living afterwards. Edi and Ash have been lifelong best friends, closer than sisters, all their experiences entwined. When Edi receives a terminal diagnosis, her husband accepts Ash’s offer to move to hospice care close to Ash, to spare Edi’s young son from watching her die and to keep his life as normal as possible. Ash puts her life on hold to be with Edi, breaking up with her husband, letting her work drift, sleeping with various inappropriate people and neglecting her younger daughter, who is working out issues of her own. The hospice and its staff is warm and comforting, with pleasure to be found in many ways, and Ash is able to support and care for this woman she has loved all her life during her final weeks, which is seen here as a privilege and a mutual gift, although it is also terribly, crushingly hard. Ash is exhausted and devastated, but is surrounded by the love of family and friends, which enables her to continue and to have hope for the future. Despite the tragedy, the story has a surprising amount of humour, but most of all feels totally authentic and involving. Do not miss- but expect to shed some tears.

‘We all want impossible things’ is a tremendously thought provoking, heart wrenching read. It was a bit hard to get in to at the beginning, but then it takes a hold of you and you are completely invested.
Insightful and touching, with a little humour thrown in - I shall definitely recommend this book to anyone affected by cancer.
Thank you so much.

Just gorgeous in its combination of humour and grief; I was fully immersed in the beauty of the language. I also felt the narrator’s voice was really authentic in that slightly self-conscious and knowing way but also honest and funny and morbid and wild.

Probably no one who hadn’t gone through such a profound loss could have written this and I appreciated the ability to share it.

It took me a little while to get into this book and pass some of the Americanisms, being British, but it soon had me completely hooked. Beautifully well written it was an emotional tale between two lifelong friends, one of whom is in a hospice dying from cancer. The book relates Edi's last few days so one can expect some emotional turmoil told in a no holds barred way. Also, running though, is the incredible love and support throughout, highs and lows whilst being heartbreaking but also uplifting. Ash, Edi's best friend, is trying to keep everything together with her own family and relationships whilst also coming to terms with the absolute devastation watching her friend slowly die. Not for everyone but, I personally found it utterly compelling.

I only took two days to read this book it was difficult to put down, I enjoyed the storyline and the gentle way the story was told, has to be said I wasn't overly keen on the main charecter telling the story, even with the situation, I found it hard to warm to her
All in all though not a bad read at all

I have just spent about two days with lifelong best friends, Edi and Ash. Ash is funny, and neurotic, and caring, and Edi is sick, doctors can't help her anymore, and so therefore she needs to move to a Hospice. All of the Hospices in her native New York have waiting lists(!), so, after being advised to say goodbye to her young son (While she still can), she moves into a Hospice near Ash. Edi wants to spend the days she has left 'living', while Ash seems to spending the time being paranoid, and having sex with anyone she fancies! A really sad tale about the power of friendship, about loss, and about knowing how to live, that will have you laughing out loud at times..."And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make'...
A truly beautiful book that explores all the feelings of love and loss

I'm DNFing at 28% there's no way I'm gonna be able to finish this and I've tried enough I don't want to get into another slump.

I just can't get into it, the concept is wonderfull but I'm not sure about the execution.
Sometimes it feels like a blur of thought, not structured enought to make any sence to the reader and half the time I had no idea who was talking or what was going on but eitherway I couldn't be bothered enough to try.

Thank you Netgalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers & Doubleday for the digital ARC.

This is a story of a wonderful, deep friendship which pulls no punches when it describes the sheer unadulterated awfulness of terminal cancer. The descriptions of Edi's care are stark as Ash performs tasks from cleaning Edi when her feeding tube leaks to plucking her chin hair, all the time reminiscing and moving from laughter to tears.

Despite some excellent writing I found it difficult to become absorbed in the story as it flitted about so much, moving timelines and writing style constantly. At times it was written as stream of consciousness but then it would move to narrative which I found interrupted the flow.

Sadly I did not love this as much as I had hoped.

It is undoubtedly well written but I felt it was almost overburdened with characters and circumstances in places and I found myself having to flick back pages a few pages more than once.

The central story of Edi and Ash was beautifully told and extra poignant due to Edis imminent death. And yes that doesn’t make for light reading but the story is lifted with humour and the obvious love the women share.

***
I left my review for a couple of days before posting. In that couple of days I’ve thought of the book and the characters often.

Ash’s seemingly complicated life complete with her crazy thoughts and it’s many affairs initially just seemed a bit much and rather annoying in places. However as I’ve reflected on it and thought about it I can really view it as a coping mechanism for the loss of her friend. A loss that happens bit by bit as the disease progresses and then all at once when she finally goes.

The period of reflection has turned the book from a 3 star to a 4 for me as I very rarely have thought about a book so much after I have finished it and in a lot of ways it will stay with me for a long time

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read an advance copy

The heart rendering story of Ash, who is caring for and supporting her dying friend Ali. Ash and Ali have been best friends for over 40 years.
However it’s not all tears and doom and gloom; the Nora Ephron comparison drew me to request a proof of this book, there is definitely plenty of quippy, dry and clever humour. It’s a sad book, but is also full of life, light and energy.

Ash and Ali’s conversations are lovely. Ali’s comments about Ash’s future eulogy show a very close pair of friends who know each other as well, if not better, than sisters. I also enjoyed Ash’s inner dialogue, this was an effective way to convey her thoughts, feelings and humour.

I enjoyed the slow-burn, rather touching and unexpected, love story too. There is a good supporting cast of spouses, friends and family. Belle, Ash’s daughter, is my absolute favourite. She has some of the best lines! You know when you come across a character in a book, and would really like another written all about them? Belle is that for me.

The hospice and progression of the story rang so true I began to suspect that the author may have experienced something similar; and indeed by the afterword we learn that her best friend died.

This novel will not be for everyone, particularly those who have someone with a cancer diagnosis within their circle, it’s a tough read at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Very real and genuine read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

A story set in a hospice but is filled with humour and warmth. Edi has terminal cancer and has moved to a hospice near her best and oldest friend, Ash and her family. This is essentially the story of friendship with no boundaries.
It was a slow start but the characters are so engaging and Ash is quirky and eccentric with her own muddled life story.
Obviously, there is an underlying sadness, and I sobbed at one point, but the overall theme is of friendship and humour.

Heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, We All Want Impossible Things draws the reader into the relationship between two friends as one of them, Edi, is reaching the end of her life.
If you wondered if there could be a book about hospice life which draws humour right through it, this is it.
Warm, funny, moving - this book evokes all sorts of feelings some of them all at once. Although the end has to be sad there is also joy and hope as we see how people closest to Edi come together as a result of her death, and how relationships are healed. Well worth a read.

This book was well written, but it was quite a slow read to begin with . It is an incredibly sad story, so be prepared

It took me a while to get into this book as the characters are all so quirky so it felt a little bit overdone. However, they are all so charming, I started to enjoy them. The story is about Ash and Edi's friendship, and their families. Edi is dying of cancer, and spends her last weeks at a hospice near Ash's family. Ash is egocentric with no boundaries, but she is also really funny, and loving to everyone in her orbit. She has no secrets from Edi, who knows her so well. A moving story.

A sad and touching story but still filled with hope and love. Definitely worth a read, with tissues and a drink by your side. Very well written.