#53 We all want impossible things by 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.
This book didn't do much for me. The friendship between the women was authentic but the main character had definite issues (sleeping around with multiple partners, breaking up with her husband for no apparent reason) that needed to be addressed and just weren't. Several of the characters had similar names which made it difficult to keep track of who was who. And frankly, her ex-husband's behavior didn't come off the least bit believable.
