“ Wreck  is a delight. What an absolute joy to be reunited with Rocky and her family, the characters we all fell in love with in  Sandwich . Newman's prose is laugh-out-loud funny. It's also profound. I underlined so many passages in this treasure of a novel. It brought about that conundrum that the best books always do: I couldn't stop reading, even though I didn't want it to end.”—J . Courtney Sullivan,  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Cliffs “ Wreck  is the kind of book that pulls up a chair, pours the wine, and dives deep—equal parts hilarious, sharp, and achingly sincere. It’s like spending hours with the friend who sees your mess and loves you more for it. I didn’t just read it—I felt known by it. A luminous, laugh-out-loud triumph by Newman.”—Alison Espach,  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Wedding People 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 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. “Wreck  is the kind of book that pulls up a chair, pours the wine, and dives deep—equal parts hilarious, sharp, and achingly sincere. It’s like spending hours with the friend who sees your mess and loves you more for it. I didn’t just read it—I felt known by it. A luminous, laugh-out-loud triumph by Newman.” - Alison Espach, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding People “This novel is a rare thing: both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply attuned to the quiet devastations of illness, grief, and family life. In Rocky . . . Newman gives us a narrator whose fierce intelligence and generous heart make even the most ordinary moments shimmer with grace.” - Meghan O’Rourke, The New York Times “In this utterly joyful standalone novel, Newman brings back the beloved star of her summer smash hit  Sandwich . But instead of braving Cape Cod’s overpriced clam shacks, she’s cozied up for fall in her Massachusetts home, desperate to get to the bottom of her freaky new rash, a mysterious local train accident, and—just maybe—how to live a life of meaningful love in a world of brutal impermanence." - Oprah Daily, "25 Best Books of Fall 2025" "If you liked Sandwich , you’ll love Wreck , its warm, witty sequel . . . . Some characters are just too good to let go after a single book: Olive Kitteridge, Hercule Poirot, Tom Sawyer. And now, in Wreck , Catherine Newman has given Rocky, the sharp-witted, neurotically doting mother who narrates her delicious 2024 novel, Sandwich , a repeat engagement . . . . Wreck is even funnier, yet also more earnest in its explorations of life's fundamental impermanence.” - NPR.org "A winning blend of pathos and humor. . . . A bittersweet gem of a book." - The Boston Globe " With warmth, wit, and honesty, Wreck captures the laughter and tears of ordinary life in a way that feels both timeless and true." - Good Morning America "A wise book, in addition to being a funny one." - The Minneapolis Star Tribune "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." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Catherine Newman has my heart . . . . Newman is my dream writer, and she channels the perfect cocktail of humanity into her characters, especially Rocky. Rocky is funny and dry and emotional and sometimes crazy and always loving, so loving, of her family, even as she struggles and panics. It’s a gift to get to be on the quest with her, and learn alongside her, about how to be alive, to be a person, to be good, to be worthy." - LitHub, "Most Anticipated Books" “If you loved Catherine Newman’s summery escape to Cape Cod in Sandwich , trust that you’ll equally relish Wreck ’s trip to an autumnal Western Massachusetts . . . . Newman’s sparkling humor and heart are on full display as the middle-aged Rocky spirals over a local tragedy that could have impacted her loved ones