Sandwich has a LOT. In a way super lovely and an ode to mothers and women and love. Also hard and ugly and uncomfortable and utterly sad. I think most women will both feel seen and relieved, but also stressed and depressed. It's a really strange book to try and describe. Definitely one I will be thinking about for a while... It could be super triggering; there is a lot about all aspects of the female reproductive system.

This book was... Okay! I did notice pretty quickly that I for sure was not the target audience. As a 24-year-old woman, I could more than relate to Rocky's children but struggled connecting to her, the main character. I found her irrational and frustrating and had difficulty empathizing at times. Still, when I showed some passages to my mid-50s mother, she said Rocky sounded completely normal, and her behavior, while not great, was understandable. So clearly, it's not quite a book that fits for me. Another thing I also found frustrating was the "miscommunication trope", if you will, that seems to permeate a lot of books when there needs to be a conflict that arises. It's tiresome as a reader, but realistic as well, so it's not a deep-seated qualm I have with Newman. On a much minor note, there were a few times in dialogue and Rocky's inner monologue that made me physically cringe, which was a bit painful but again, I'm 24, and my mom joking about TikTok makes me cringe too, so it tracks.

Overall a decent read, but it is difficult to relate to the main character without undergoing menopause myself. I suppose that uncomfortableness I chaffed up against is intended, to try to get readers to understand the feelings and actions of someone undergoing these insane hormone changes. But I'm not in the audience/demographic that can emotionally connect to Newman's book/writing.