A review by life_full_ofbooks
Sandwich by Catherine Newman

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I cannot remember a time where a book made me feel like I was looking in a mirror, but Sandwiched did exactly that. Catherine Newman has so perfectly created a book about a middle age woman going through it all- being an empty nester and learning to parent her young adult children, watching her parents age and dealing with what she knows is coming next, and figuring out how she relates to her husband now that it’s just the two of them at home. 

Every summer for the last 2 decades Rocky and her family has rented the same cottage on Cape Cod and the one week they spend there is the one week Rocky looks forward to all year. This year is no different except for maybe Rocky’s erratic hormonal mood swings going from happiness to rage or sadness in a blink of an eye. This summer is different because while Rocky is present, she’s also in the past reminiscing of summers when her children were young, her parents were healthy, and the one unthinkable thing she did of which she’s never spoken. 

I actually gained so much insight into myself through the pages of this book. I to am a middle aged woman who is learning to parent my young adult children. At the same time I am watching my parents age (very gracefully, but age nonetheless) and I’m filled with memories from both when I was little and my children were little. Also, the mood swings Ms. Newman writes about are absolutely no joke. I have found myself angry and crying over things that normally wouldn’t elicit such emotion from me. 

While this goes deep into the topic of child loss I really think this is the book every middle age, perimenopausal or menopausal woman needs to read so that she knows she isn’t crazy, she’s just in a new stage of life. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for an advanced copy of this. I am so sorry took me so long to get to this, but it was well worth the wait. Sandwich hit the shelves on June 18th.