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A review by lavendcr
We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
Did not finish book.
DNF after Chapter 5.
I added this book to my TBR in hopes of getting a good cry in because the subject matter hits really close to home and I thought I could relate. As I read, I got a weird vibe but I put it aside and thought of it as Ash’s coping mechanism. Oh boy was I wrong.
As if I thought Ash sleeping with her dying best friends brother was bad enough, Dr Soprano pulled her in the laundry room and I really thought he was going to tell her really bad news… and I was slapped in the face with Ash and him messing around in the Hospice’s LAUNDRY ROOM? Yeah she’s sleeping with her best friends brother, doctor, nurse, and her daughters old teacher…
I went to goodreads to see the reviews to make sure I was reading the same thing everyone else was… I went to the lower reviews and thank god there’s tons of people who felt the same way I did. I read across one mentioning Edi asking Ash to make her eulogy about EDI’s legacy, not Ash’s. Even her wedding toast to Edi was about how GOOD OF A FRIEND ASH WAS TO HER. I skimmed further in the book to find more alarming things, like Ash going to the dermatologist trying to diagnose herself with skin cancer(?) which I mean,, I guess is reasonable but her entire character seemed so selfish to me and part of me wonders if her and Edi were ever close to begin with. It’s like she is just counting the days until her friend passes and is disappointed every time her best friend lives to see another day. Like she’s anticipating the day she leaves this earth. I’d probably want to go ASAP knowing I had a best friend like that, so selfish and insensitive to the tragedy unfolding right in front of her. And even when Edi is upfront to Ash about one her flaws, ASH has the nerve to question if the drugs and pain, both emotional and physical, of dying is turning her into a different person or if she’s always thought of her friend like that.
Not to discredit the author, because I am only one person and know my experience with such situations. I wonder if the author has first hand experience and has done all the research when diving into the world of healthcare. There is lots of things in here that are seen as unethical—and it no doubt is, and that makes it all the more shocking that things like this ACTUALLY happen—and against protocol when handling patients. I mean are we going to skip over the part where the Ash tells the nurses that Edi’s PEG tube looks irritated, possibly infected. The nurses just tell them to wash over it with….tap….water….
I skipped forward to find the eulogy, hoping it could so much as add at least a 0.5 to my rating. It didn’t. This book was so upsetting to me. I was looking forward to reading a fast read about something I might be able to relate to and it only made me angry. I’ve never been so genuinely mad at a book like this before. Hence why this review is so long. I don’t usually write stuff this long, I stick to short and sweet. But I know I’m probably gonna be angry for a few days because…wtf…
Everyone copes and grieves differently. That’s what I try to remind myself. But this is just… not it. Cancer and Hospice is tragic, and not only is it hard on the victim, but also the families and friends involved. But Ash, this is not about you…
I added this book to my TBR in hopes of getting a good cry in because the subject matter hits really close to home and I thought I could relate. As I read, I got a weird vibe but I put it aside and thought of it as Ash’s coping mechanism. Oh boy was I wrong.
As if I thought Ash sleeping with her dying best friends brother was bad enough, Dr Soprano pulled her in the laundry room and I really thought he was going to tell her really bad news… and I was slapped in the face with Ash and him messing around in the Hospice’s LAUNDRY ROOM? Yeah she’s sleeping with her best friends brother, doctor, nurse, and her daughters old teacher…
I went to goodreads to see the reviews to make sure I was reading the same thing everyone else was… I went to the lower reviews and thank god there’s tons of people who felt the same way I did. I read across one mentioning Edi asking Ash to make her eulogy about EDI’s legacy, not Ash’s. Even her wedding toast to Edi was about how GOOD OF A FRIEND ASH WAS TO HER. I skimmed further in the book to find more alarming things, like Ash going to the dermatologist trying to diagnose herself with skin cancer(?) which I mean,, I guess is reasonable but her entire character seemed so selfish to me and part of me wonders if her and Edi were ever close to begin with. It’s like she is just counting the days until her friend passes and is disappointed every time her best friend lives to see another day. Like she’s anticipating the day she leaves this earth. I’d probably want to go ASAP knowing I had a best friend like that, so selfish and insensitive to the tragedy unfolding right in front of her. And even when Edi is upfront to Ash about one her flaws, ASH has the nerve to question if the drugs and pain, both emotional and physical, of dying is turning her into a different person or if she’s always thought of her friend like that.
Not to discredit the author, because I am only one person and know my experience with such situations. I wonder if the author has first hand experience and has done all the research when diving into the world of healthcare. There is lots of things in here that are seen as unethical—and it no doubt is, and that makes it all the more shocking that things like this ACTUALLY happen—and against protocol when handling patients. I mean are we going to skip over the part where the Ash tells the nurses that Edi’s PEG tube looks irritated, possibly infected. The nurses just tell them to wash over it with….tap….water….
I skipped forward to find the eulogy, hoping it could so much as add at least a 0.5 to my rating. It didn’t. This book was so upsetting to me. I was looking forward to reading a fast read about something I might be able to relate to and it only made me angry. I’ve never been so genuinely mad at a book like this before. Hence why this review is so long. I don’t usually write stuff this long, I stick to short and sweet. But I know I’m probably gonna be angry for a few days because…wtf…
Everyone copes and grieves differently. That’s what I try to remind myself. But this is just… not it. Cancer and Hospice is tragic, and not only is it hard on the victim, but also the families and friends involved. But Ash, this is not about you…