WE ALL WANT IMPOSSIBLE THINGS

WE ALL WANT IMPOSSIBLE THINGS by Catherine Newman

I haven't had to quit a book for a while. Unfortunately We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman didn't make it. The idea, the premise, of this book is a good one. In this case our storyteller "Ash" is a middle aged woman who is sharing the story of watching her lifelong best friend, Edi, battle ovarian cancer. She can't fix it. It's heartbreaking. Edi's young son can't handle seeing his mother lose the battle, and it's time hospice takes over. Ash finds a hospice home that's quite a distance from where Edi lives, but it seems to be the best solution instead of dying at home. So Edi says her earthly goodbyes to her husband and son and travels with Ash to stay in the home. What ensues is two friends remembering the past and making a few last memories together. The idea cuts you to the quick, as most of us can relate whether in a small way or a big way to the journey. So what's my problem with this book? It's Ash's life that I don't want to read about anymore about. Separated from her husband, yet still having a unique relationship with him, Ash in 45 pages has had an ongoing sexual relationship with Edi's brother and with a doctor. The latest romp with Edi's brother happens while her teenage daughter is at home who walks in on them. Her daughter's response? One of the multiple times she uses the f-word. Ash later explains to her gynecologist at her check up that she is basically whoring. The doctor's response? Are you being safe? I have to speculate here going forward, because I haven't read the book. I believe this behavior is more common than we like to admit. Remember the title? We All Want Impossible Things. Families are in crisis, relationships are in crisis, people are in crisis, and all they know how to do is try and stop the emotional pain anyway they can. Binge eating, binge shopping, binge sex. Feel good for the moment, pay the consequences later. (Can I just say there is no such thing as safe sex? There is "less risk" sex but not safe sex.) I hurt when I read books like this. You know why? There's a person behind the writing!! There's an author, and somehow through her own imagination or listening to conversation around her, she has written this story! Life is painful at times. I can attest to that! In the words of a recent popular song, "I have won. I have lost. I got it right sometimes, but sometimes I did not." However, life doesn't have to end with what happens here. Life is fleeting. James 4:14 tells us that it is a vapor, but that doesn't have to be the end of the story. Those of us who have Christ are never alone. We have hope on the promised righting of wrongs in the future. No death, no tears. No loss. I truly hope this post finds you resting in that hope and not the endless pursuit of trying to live each day relieving that internal pain on your own!