Author Revisits Beloved Characters, Explores Life's Unexpected Turns

In 2025, author Catherine Newman is returning to the characters she first introduced in her 2024 novel "Sandwich" with her latest book "Wreck." The story, which has been selected as Good Morning America's November book club pick, follows the family of protagonist Rocky as they take their yearly escape to Cape Cod.

The novel, set two years after the events of "Sandwich," finds Rocky living in Western Massachusetts with her husband Nick and their daughter Willa, who has returned home after college. Their son Jamie has taken a new job in New York, and Rocky's widowed father Mort has moved in with the family.

While life seems relatively normal, Newman explores how Rocky becomes "obsessed with a local accident that only tangentially affects them" and a medical condition that she hopes won't impact her family. Through the story, the author delves into 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."

In an exclusive interview, Newman explains that she simply couldn't let go of the characters she had created, as they "kept finding their way in, even when I wasn't committed to writing about them." The author had to be mindful of maintaining continuity with the previous book, but ultimately, she was drawn to exploring the "bittersweet" aspects of daily life that are present in both "Sandwich" and "Wreck."