Goodreads says, "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 them—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."
Two years after readers encountered Rocky's family in Sandwich, we return to their busy family home in Massachusetts. Rocky and Nick are busy with work and family, and Willa, their newly graduated daughter, has moved home while she works and applies to graduate schools. Rocky's newly widowed father has also moved back home to the apartment at the back of their house. Life is moving along as usual until a local tragedy occurs. A man they know was hit by a train while driving his car and died, and Jamie, the oldest child, graduated from high school with him. The family obsesses over this tragedy, including the fact that it is so close to home and how could something like this have happened. Rocky loves to scour Facebook for information and compulsively checks on the mother of the son's page. This could have happened to her son, right? To complicate things further, Rocky has a rash that the dermatologist can't even figure out. So, she is sent for further testing and to specialists, and the in-and-out revolving door of doctors starts for Rocky, which isn't great, as she is an anxious individual to begin with. Wreck by Catherine Newman examines life at its messiest, but also suggests that there is joy to be found even when things are uncertain.
Imagine my surprise when I heard there was going to be another book about Rocky's family. I adored Sandwich and was blown away by Newman's beautiful writing; it reminded me of Ann Patchett and Nora Ephron. So, I was absolutely delighted to visit with Rocky's family again in Wreck. There's something about how she describes motherhood and life that really resonates with me. Her desire to protect and take care of her kids in this unpredictable world is something that I think many women can relate to, as well as being sandwiched between taking care of your kids and taking care of your elderly parents.
Rocky's interactions with her dad, as well as her kids, are some of my favorite discussions that not only made me laugh out loud but stopped me in my tracks. Some lines just begged to be re-read and marinated in. Here are a few of my favorites:
"To have a child is to have your heart go walking around outside your body for the rest of your life-so the saying goes. Not a pink bubble of a heart, but the bloodied organ itself, dragged through the gutter behind a team of wild horses, returned to you in tatters if at all."
"One day, will we look back and think: Wow, that was a hard year? Will we be damaged and scarred, but okay? Or will we think: That was when things first started to get bad? There's no telling. Only this-loving each other like there's plenty of room on the life raft. Like there's no tomorrow - or like there is one, and you don't want to wake up hungover with regret. You just want to wake up while you still can."
I also appreciated that Newman depicted chronic illness perfectly in Wreck. I can only assume that Newman herself has dealt with this, as it was spot on. The ups and downs of chronic illness, the funny parts, the frustrating parts (insurance, doctor's offices, bills, getting coverage, referrals), and the part where you learn to live with uncertainty and finally learn to thrive in it, because you have no choice. What you become certain about is the very thing we have always known - that we are only guaranteed this moment in life. And while things can be uncertain, you can find happiness amidst the painful moments. In an interview with Vogue, Newman said that she just wants "people to laugh, mostly, but I also want the thing I always want: I want people to feel less alone." I'd say she accomplished that easily. There were so many moments of Rocky's illness that I could personally relate to, and I thought....well, I'm glad it's not just me!
I'll read anything Newman writes, and I loved being lost in Rocky's world once again. If you enjoyed Sandwich, you'll love Wreck, one of my favorite books of the year. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and if you plan to read Wreck this fall.
