This is such a heartbreaking story. I struggled to read such vivid descriptions of someone in the end stages of life. It left me feeling sad and angry and with a sense of loss. If you have ever had someone close to you suffer due to cancer you will understand.

This novel is draining, heartbreaking and impossibly difficult to read at length. Is that what makes a great read?
I can't answer that, but if you like a deeply moving read and don't mind the wave of depression that comes with it than this is the one for you!

A very powerful book that pulls no punches about terminal illness. Very well written, i did find the humour a bit forced sometimes but I suppose it would be.

We All Want Impossible Things is a beautiful life-affirming read. Funny, sad, moving and uplifting all at once.

I finished this book yesterday and wanted a day to reflect before I wrote my review. I honestly think this is one of the best books I have read it quite a while. It has a massive heart and I feel as if I lived every moment of it.
I almost regretted starting it when I realised what the subject matter was (I didn't take too much notice of the description - totally my fault!). Having been widowed due to cancer when I had a two year old child (17 years ago now) I wasn't sure if could read it. as it felt too close to home. But I am SO GLAD I DID! We All Want Impossible Things is about loss but it is brilliantly life-affirming and uplifting. You will be laughing and crying at the same time - which I think is pretty rare.
The whole cast of characters were so well written. From the elderly patients in the hospice to the teenage children, the author got them all so right. I can't pick out a favourite, they were all special.
I am going to be recommending this to everyone and I can't thank the author enough for sharing her personal insight and amazing observations. I LOVED IT! I can't wait to see what Catherine Newman writes next. In the meantime - I am off to stream Fiddler on the Roof.


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I can’t praise this book enough. It’s heartbreaking but also therapeutic to someone who has had to deal with this issue. The book takes you on a journey of two best friends who have to deal with the dreaded big C. Ash and Edi have been friends since childhood and the journey the book takes you on as Edi prepares to leave this world and Ash realises she will be gone made me cry buckets. How family and friends deal with their loved one in hospice care to how hospice care is so caring and gives you the help you so need at such a trying time. Please, please, please read this book.

Please only read this book if you are ready for an emotional journey.

Ash and Edi have been best friends forever, long before BFF was a thing. Now Edi is dying far too young and Ash has to be there for her as she negotiates hospice life. But Ash’s life is complicated and she is often selfish, but I still ended up really liking her.

This book is sad. You know where it is going as a reader but every time some glimmer of hope appears, you want to be true, just as the characters in the story do.

I would recommend this to anyone who has a friend, has lost a friend or been a friend.

I knew that this book would make me cry, what I didn't know was that it would make me laugh as well.
Ash and Edi have been friends for forty years, since they were children and Edi is dying of ovarian cancer and is in a hospice near Ash who becomes her support - the one she calls. These two have shared so much, they have been with each other through school, break-ups, marriage and childbirth. They know each other inside out which is why a book about Edi dying should rip your heart out. But - there is so much love and humanity in here, there are laugh out loud moments as Ash tries to balance being there for Edi with looking after her daughter, Belle, who is the sort of daughter I would have loved to have had, her various lovers - she seems to be using sex as an affirmation of life - and sorting out her relationship with her estranged husband. The love between all of these characters is touching, real and funny. In the hospice, this is not a gloomy, sad place. The carers, other patients - such wonderful and real people. Because this is a book about Edi dying, we know when we start reading that we will eventually get to that scene - but it is not over-written, it is not over dramatic. For someone who watched her own mother slip away - this was exactly how it was and memories flooded back.
This is not a depressing book - it is sad, it will make you cry but it will also fill your heart with love.

Have finished this story with a broken heart but full of love and anecdotes. Such a beautiful story that is a bit jumbled at times but just feels like it could actually be. The story is heart wrenching so be ready with the tissues.

I really tried to get into this book. I got to 38% and had to give up.
I hate giving up but I felt this was too jumbled for me.
Maybe I’ll give it another try at some point, but it’s not for me right now.

4-5 stars

Edi is dying, it’s a horribly inevitable result of her ovarian cancer. The New York hospital need to move her to hospice care and that’s proving tricky and so she has to go to one near where her best friend Ashley lives in West Massachusetts and she’s now been there three weeks. The two women have been best friends for forty two years and have shared many highs and lows and everything in between. This wonderful novel tells the story of Edi’s last days with the appearance of hospice characters such as Cedar with his guitar and Doctor “Soprano” with the accompaniment of Fiddler on the Roof blasting out at full volume in the background.
The pair reminisce and try to come to terms with letting go of something so precious. Ash is struggling in her personal life with her nearly ex-husband and teenage daughters especially Belle.

This is a beautifully written book which has you engaged from the start principally because the characterisation is so good. Sometimes it even has you bursting out laughing so don’t worry if you think it may be too depressing although obviously it does make you want to cry especially at the end so have your tissues at the ready. There is sadness and heartache, it is moving and poignant but it is also full of joy and laughter. Both Edi and Ash are wonderful characters, Ash is imperfect but she’s honest and hilarious with a very (very) messy sex life. The relationship with Edi is just so fantastic as they talk about their past lives and the situation in the present day. The dialogue between them is excellent as it is throughout . Belle is a real chip off the old block and the relationship between her and Ash is a good one with their conversations being highly entertaining.

There is a lot of focus on food especially a lemon polenta cake so you may find yourself salivating from time to time!

Overall, this is a perfectly pitched and touching story which isn’t especially long which it doesn’t need to be.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House U.K., Transworld, Doubleday for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Exquisitely written from the depths of the heart and soul. Just wow!

Ash (Ashley) and Edi (Edith) have been friends since kindergarten. They have shared a lifetime of friendship, but now Edi has ovarian cancer and needs to go into a hospice. She is transferred to a hospice near where Ash lives, and Ash is to become her main carer.

The book puts you right into the story from the beginning.
I found this a deeply moving book, I was sad one moment and laughing the next, strange to say.
It is about a very sensitive subject death, so if you have gone through a similar story it may, or may not be for you.
I loved the outpouring of love and empathy shown to Edi, by her people.
I really liked the authors style of writing, some of her sentences were like nuggets of gold, that I hope to remember. And her humour, her projection of love and empathy, describing a face decorated like a cup cake. Priceless.
I just loved the line “life is messy, I certainly don’t expect tidiness from yours or anyone else’s”, sentence. Just one of a heap I just thought added a wonderful touch.
So, this book is about grief, love, loyalty and cherished moments.
I was enthralled, if that term can be used under the circumstances. I understand why the author needed to write this book, and also on a personal level I can understand how it feels to love someone so deeply, that couldn’t stay in this life.
My personal opinion is that I cannot praise this book enough, and I will never forget about it, it will stay with me.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and author for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions of this are entirely my own.

An absolute tear jerker. This was such an emotional and heartbreaking story and as such, not an easy read. We all want impossible things is the beautiful and moving story of lifetime best friends Ash and Edi as they deal with Edi's terminal cancer diagnosis and the impact her death has on Ash.
You will need plenty of tissues and a family member to hug whilst reading this!
A highly recommended read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday for the opportunity to read and review this beautiful and moving novel.

‘𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 - 𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝, 𝙄 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 - 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙤. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.’

I went in blind to this one, I just liked the title and cute cover - next time I’ll do my research 😂 This was a heavy, heavy book!

The content is very raw and descriptive, it doesn’t beat around the bush and attempt to gloss over tricky things. Which makes for a compelling but difficult read.

The characters were all very interesting, messy and complicated to say the least but with great depth and distinct voices.

The portrayal of unwavering friendship and having a solid support system is second to none. Edi and Ash’s friendship is beautiful and it’s lovely and heartbreaking reading their journey.

Fleshed out with subplots and backstories, the story flows well and is easy to read. I did find the pacing slow in a parts, but I understand that’s due to the story content and I don’t think it would have worked any other way.

Overall it’s an emotional and heartbreaking story of friendship, illness and grief. Beautifully and sensitively written. I would recommend the book but encourage to check our CW/TW’s prior as it could be distressing for some.

This is not an easy read, and sadly, it is one that I could not continue with. I found it to be unremittingly sad, even though there are occasional flashes of humour in amongst the pathos.
The storyline resonated with me in a distressing way, so I had to leave it.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

We all want impossible things is absolutely beautiful. It broke me in two but I felt compelled to keep reading. Savage, witty, heartbreaking. Made you want to grab your loved ones and never let them go. Talks really thoughtfully about children and motherhood. Love love love. Will be recommending.

This is a rather irreverent approach to some difficult subject matter, including terminal illness, bereavement and grief, but the dark gallows humour helps to transform what could have been emotionally draining into an uplifting and life-affirming reading experience. Highly recommended.

Stunning - both big-hearted and heart-breaking. I loved this warm, witty, real, raw portrait of two best friends, one looking after the other as she slowly passes away in a hospice and all the messy feelings that go with that. The author artfully manages to navigate having no real plot (a natural side effect of the topic) by instead having authentic characters and relationships, sparkling dialogue, and deep, thoughtful meaning, relatably conveyed, about who we love, how we love, how we grieve. I thought it might depress me but it was uplifting. A beautiful and moving novel - highly highly recommended. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read.

We All Want Impossible Things is an American novel so there were things I had to Google but that didn't take away from my total enjoyment of this book. It was wonderful, heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measures, honest and true. My favourite book so far this year.

This book follows the friendship of Ash and Edi as they deal with Edi's terminal diagnosis. It is at times funny and full of pathos. The love underlying the relationship shines through and it would be impossible to read this book without the emotion affecting the reader. It reads very much like a memoir in a fictional overcoat and it makes me wonder if there is a least some basis in fact in the author's life.

For me there was just something that meant i failed to become fully invested in the story and perhaps that was to do with the emotional roller coaster that Ash seemed to be riding in her own life with Honey, Jonah (or was it with Jude), and with the hospice Dr.

It was good and to a large extent memorable but not quite there