Wreck

 

Wreck by Catherine Newman

Fiction

2025

Finished on May 12, 2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

The acclaimed bestselling author of Sandwich is back with a wonderful novel, full of laughter and heart, about marriage, family, and what happens when life doesn’t go as planned.

If you loved Rocky and her family on vacation on Cape Cod, wait until you join them at home two years later. And if this is your first meeting with this crew, get ready to laugh and cry--and relate.

Rocky, still anxious, nostalgic, and funny, is living in Western Massachusetts with her husband, Nick, and their daughter, Willa, who's back home after college. Their son, Jamie, has taken a new job in New York, and Mort, Rocky's widowed father, has moved in.

It all couldn't be more ridiculously normal... until Rocky finds herself obsessed with a local accident that only tangentially affects their family--and with a medical condition that, she hopes, won't affect them at all.

With her signature wit and wisdom, Catherine Newman explores the hidden rules of family, the heavy weight of uncertainty, and the gnarly fact that people--no matter how much you love them--are not always exactly who you want them to be.

Wreck marks the third book that I've read by Catherine Newman. I loved her debut novel We All Want Impossible Things, as well as Sandwich, both of which earned perfect 5-star ratings from me. Newman's stories are so relatable, and I love her humor, laughing out loud on several occasions as I read Wreck. It was fun revisiting Rocky and her family (from Sandwich), but the book wasn't quite as good as her previous novels. I look forward to re-reading her earlier works, and I have a copy of Waiting for Birdy, which I plan to read for Nonfiction November. I also subscribe to her Substack, which is both informative and funny. She's one of those authors that I'd love to be friends with!

A few favorite passages:

When kids willingly re-create parts of their childhood, it feels like such a vote of confidence: cotton sheets, thrift shopping, the good organic olive oil we've always gotten. And then you have to not be offended when they get the other brand of butter or their toilet paper unrolls from the wrong direction or they make smoothies with juice instead of coconut milk.

and

Have you ever taken an elderly parent to a juice bar? No? Don't start now.

The line is long, and my dad squints at the menu behind the counter. "Is pitaya just a different spelling of papaya?" he asks. It's not. "So what's pitaya, then?" I don't actually know. What is collagen? Ashwagandha? Wheatgrass? "Are maca and matcha the same thing?" I say I don't think so. "Is cacko just cocoa?" Cuh-COW. And yes. "Why do they spell it like that?" He's seen it in the crossword puzzle before, but not in real life. "Are cuh-COW nibs like chocolate chips?" Not as much as you might hope. What is goji? What is spirulina? Because he doesn't hear well, we're shouting at at him, and I can hear how abusive it sounds--like we're bullying an old man with a verbal catalogue of superfoods.

and 

The intake person asks a trillion questions to make sure I don't have secret metal in my body that will shoot up into my brain and kill me as soon as the magnet's on....She runs through her list: 'Artificial limbs or joints? Pacemaker? Defibrillator? Insulin pump? Shrapnel?...Do you have an older IUD?' she asks, and I think, Do I? God, did I ever get my IUD removed? A relic from a different time, like the expired ketchup in the back of the fridge from when the kids were eight. 'Oh,' I say remembering, 'I think it fell out on its own at some point.'

and

His personality is very cross that bridge when you come to it. Mine is very apply to engineering school in case there's a bridge that might need crossing but it hasn't been designed yet.

and

Remember the world from back when you couldn't even find out if you had strep throat without a doctor calling the wall phone in your kitchen? Now you just click into your computer and discover that you have cancer - or that you have - I'm seeing this now - a white-blood-cell disorder called leukopenia - or that they've scheduled your autopsy.

I wholeheartedly agree with Kirkus Reviews:

​"Newman excels at showing how sorrow and joy coexist in everyday life. She masterfully balances a modern exploration of grief with truly laugh-out-loud lines . . . . A heartbreaking, laugh-provoking, and absolutely Ephron-esque look at the beauty and fragility of everyday life." 

Recommend.

Sandwich

 

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

Fiction

2024

Finished on June 27, 2024

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

From the beloved author of We All Want Impossible Things, a moving, hilarious story of a family summer vacation full of secrets, lunch, and learning to let go.

For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their humble beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, great meals, and messes of all kinds: emotional, marital, and—thanks to the cottage’s ancient plumbing—septic too.

This year’s vacation, with Rocky sandwiched between her half-grown kids and fully aging parents, promises to be just as delightful as summers past—except, perhaps, for Rocky’s hormonal bouts of rage and melancholy. (Hello, menopause!) Her body is changing—her life is, too. And then a chain of events sends Rocky into the past, reliving both the tenderness and sorrow of a handful of long-ago summers.

It's one precious week: everything is in balance; everything is in flux. And when Rocky comes face to face with her family’s history and future, she is forced to accept that she can no longer hide her secrets from the people she loves.

I loved this novel! After reading We All Want Impossible Things last year, I couldn't wait for the release of Catherine Newman's new book, which came out earlier this month. I rarely buy newly published books, but I wasn't going to wait for this one to come out in paperback. I knew if I borrowed it from the library, I'd wind up buying a copy for a re-read anyway. My only regret is that it wasn't longer. Like Rocky, the week-long vacation with her family went far too quickly.

"It's only Monday!" I say. I say this every year. This is the part of our vacation where I feel like the week will never end. Like it's just going to stretch out luxuriously this way for the rest of time. It won't last, though. Later I'll cry, "How is it already Friday?" and everyone will nod and sigh because I ask this every year.

Coincidentally, I started reading Sandwich while my brother's family was visiting our coastal home for a full week. "How is it already Friday?" echoed my feelings as our week drew to a close. Newman's setting is vivid, and if I squint my mind's eye, I can almost imagine Rocky's vacation home here on our bluff in Little Whale Cove. Of course, instead of lobster dinners and mini-golf windmills, we have crab cakes and whale watching, but it's really not so different!

Little Whale Cove

Years ago, when I read Nora Ephron's hilarious book, I Feel Bad About My Neck, I had not quite reached the age to which she was referring, but I still enjoyed her essays, knowing my time would come when my wrinkled neck would annoy me. (Spoiler alert: It has!). Conversely, Newman's protagonist is in the middle of menopause, while thankfully, my experience of hot flashes and emotional outbursts ended over a decade ago.

I'm looking in the mirror at my hair. My hair! What on earth? It used to hang down in heavy, glossy waves, and now it sticks out of my head like a marshful of brittle autumn grasses. It is simultaneously coarse and weightless in a way that seems like an actual paradox, as if my scalp is extruding a combination of twine, nothing, and fine-grit sandpaper.

Despite the age difference, I found Rocky's thoughts and experiences relatable and validating. I also found her relationship with her two adult children, specifically with her twenty-something-year-old daughter, enviable, albeit not without its flaws.

And this may be the only reason we were put on this earth. To say to each other, I know how you feel. To say, Same. To say, I understand how hard it is to be a parent, a kid.

Followers of this blog know that my favorite genres are memoir and fiction, specifically those centered around family, marriage, mother-daughter relationships, and aging women. Sandwich checks all the boxes. As with We All Want Impossible Things, I found Newman's latest novel humorous and tender. Reading late in the night, I disturbed my husband's sleep as I laughed aloud on numerous occasions. 

I'm happy to have purchased a copy of the book for my keeper shelf and look forward to reading it again later this summer. Fans of Anna Quindlen, Joyce Maynard, Stewart O'Nan, Abigail Thomas, and Kelly Corrigan are sure to enjoy this gem. Highly recommend!

We All Want Impossible Things

 

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

Fiction

2022 Harper

Finished on April 1, 2023

Rating: 5/5 (Outstanding)

Publisher's Blurb:

Edi and Ash 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 R.E.M. concerts; hickeys and heartbreak; surprise Scottish wakes; marriages, infertility, and children. As Ash says, "Edi's memory is like the backup 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, fleeting 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 painful, joyful, and comedic essence.

For anyone who's ever lost a friend or had one, get ready to laugh through your tears. 

I adored this book! I first noticed it on Instagram (thank you, Bookstagrammers!) and added it to my list, but wasn't planning to get it right away because hyped books tend to fail me. And yet, when I saw it on the library's new release shelf, I couldn't resist. I'm very happy to report that it's worthy of all the praise.

Death, particularly death from cancer, isn't exactly a cheerful topic, but Catherine Newman's humor provides levity to an obviously heartbreaking story. 

"Hey," I say. "I'm an optimist."

"Ash," she says. "You drive with your hazards on for no reason. You are not an optimist."

I initially thought this would be a story about two friends--one who is dying and one who will soon be grieving--but it's so much more than that. It's about friends and family and the kindness of strangers. It's also about the loving care of hospice workers. I recently read Ann Patchett's essay about the loss of her friend, Sooki, and now reading this novel, I am once again touched by the tenderness and beauty of watching over a loved one during their final moments. The circle of life...

Even more than Ash and Edi's friendship, I enjoyed the interactions and gentle love between Ash and her daughters, Belle and Jules. Belle's lines are the highlight of the novel and I have my fingers crossed that Newman writes another novel filled with characters like Belle.

While I've given the book a five-star rating, I do have a couple of quibbles. The usage of "anyways" (which grates on my nerves) is repeatedly spoken by one character and thus, not an editorial mistake, but a deliberate use of slang. I eventually got used to it, but it was a distraction. The second frustration was the confusion about the relationship between characters; there were too many names beginning with the same letter (Jules, Jude, Jonathan). Which was the spouse? Which daughter? A sibling? A simple change of names would have made for a smoother read.

We All Want Impossible Things is a short novel, clocking in at 209 pages, which makes it very tempting to re-read right away. Catherine Newman has written a middle-grade novel and a couple of children's life-skill books. She has also written two memoirs about parenthood, which I am long past needing, but I enjoy her writing so well, I'm tempted to read them just for the laughs. In her author blurb on the back cover of We All Want Impossible Things, she states,

This is her first adult novel. Not, like, adult adult in the porn way. Just, you know, for grown-ups.

I'm not the only reader who appreciates her sense of humor:

"A novel set in a hospice has no right to be as hilarious, charming, and hopeful as We All Want Impossible Things. With Nora Ephron-style lightness, Catherine Newman has constructed a truly singular tale of love and friendship. I loved it." (Joanna Rakoff, bestselling author of My Salinger Year)

"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." (Katherine Center, author of Things You Save in a Fire) 

This is a lovely, heartwarming book. I didn't want it to end, but I couldn't put it down. While I wait for more adult fiction from Catherine Newman, I plan to immerse myself in her numerous online articles (here and here).

Note to audiobook readers: I listened to a sample of the audiobook and didn't care for the reader. This is one to read in the print format.