The Friend Who Got Away: 20 Women’s True Life Tales of Friendships that Blew Up, Burned Out or Faded Away by Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell [Broadway – $14.95]
“The first time I kissed my friend Carla, I suspected I was doing something dangerous,” writes Dorothy Allison in her essay on lost friendship, one of 20 by various women writers collected here. If the honesty doesn’t get you, the familiarity will. I found myself relating to more than a few of these tales, from writers including Francine Prose, Mary Morris, Helen Schulman, and others. Hard going at times, this would make a fabulous gift for the trusted friend in anyone’s life, male or female, regardless of age. As it outlines the ease with which we can discard those important to us, it reminds us what it is that creates those bonds in the first place. These are stories of real regret, but they’re also unyielding truths about who we let into our lives and hold on to. [Amazon]