In the novel Wreck by Catherine Newman, Rocky and her family return home to Western Massachusetts after a seemingly ordinary stretch of life—her husband Nick, daughter Willa back from college, son Jamie moved to New York, and her widowed father Mort living with them.  The narrative takes a turn when Rocky becomes fixated on a nearby train‑accident that tangentially touches their lives and simultaneously faces an unexplained medical condition. Through humor, anxiety, and profound insight, Newman explores the unspoken rules of family, the fear of things falling apart, and the fact that love doesn’t always come with guarantees.

As the story unfolds, the familiar domestic world starts to wobble: Rocky’s caregiving nature collides with her own vulnerability, and the characters whom she thought she knew reveal deeper, messier truths. Catherine Newman uses Rocky’s spiraling thoughts and the quiet moments of familial connection to show how ordinary life can become extraordinary when the foundations shift—and how resilience sometimes means simply showing up¹.