The Friend Who Got Away: Twenty Women's True Life Tales of Friendships That Blew Up, Burned Out or Faded Away

by Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell

Book Overview

Losing a friend can be as painful and as agonizing as a divorce or the end of a love affair, yet it is rarely written about or even discussed. THE FRIEND WHO GOT AWAY is the first book to address this... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385511868
• ISBN13: 9780385511865
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 294 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

K. CLARK

This book jumped out at me at the book store because I have my own friendship lost stories and was intrigued by such an anthology. Initially, I was looking for a book that might answer questions about my own losses, but instead, I found a richly written group of stories that were each as unique as my own lost friendship stories. As I read, I realized that I didn't need the stories to answer my questions. They served to make me feel that my own stories were not unique. Friendship and loss are universal experiences. Sometimes with an anthology I will read one story and then have to put the book down. With this book, I looked forward to the next story right away and couldn't put the book down until I had finished them all. I totally enjoyed the reading experience. The writing was very high calibre, and the experiences and points of view were profound and thoughtful. I highly recommend this book and hope that another anthology of this kind is in the works.

awesome essays

Non-fiction essays written by women, about friendships that ended: all different kinds of friendships, and all different kinds of endings. Most of the writing is first-rate, and the stories are riveting. This is a super-interesting book. Though most of the writers seemed richer and whiter than me, I could relate to just about everything. I especially enjoy the pair of essays "Emily" and "Heather"--each friend wrote her own take on how the friendship was and how it ended: fascinating. A lot of women remember college years, which is a rich time to read about. Another favorite is "In-Betweens" which does a great job reminding the reader what childhood feels like. It's the story of an eight-year-old's first few months in Jordan. The cover is ugly, but the book is good--highly recommended!

Must read for....

Must read for any woman who has ever lost a friend. It's amazing how even the closest friendship can disintigrate, as the result of a fight, a man, or just normal everyday life circumstances. Anyone who has had a similar experience, will be able to relate to these women & find their stories moving.

It's Different for Men and Women

The relationship between two women best friends is different than the friendship between two men can ever be. As a man, it is impossible for me to every understand the female friendship, it is simply twoo alien. It seems that the two women share a part of their life in a way men simply do not. There seem to be few, if any, secrets (men don't tell each other much of anything). There seems to be an emotional bonding that men never reach, perhaps this is part of the female carrying the emotional content of a family. I read this book then from a standpoint different than the female reader. I was wondering if the stories of friendships breaking up would provide any enlightenment. I must say that they did not. Perhaps mens lives are just easier. If there is someone you decide that you miss you call then and say "how about a beer." I did find the book to be most interesting as an insight into the depth of feelings that women have regarding friends. This book should be a starting point for a whole bunch of Ph.D. theses on using this as a way to better explain certain thought patterns.

Great book for book clubs!

My book club just read this anthology and it was a huge hit, one of the few books we've read that everyone liked. The essays are very moving and cover a whole range of friendship breakups. The interesting thing was we all identified with different stories which led to a good discussion about our own lost friends. I'm glad someone finally decided to write about this topic. Every women I know has at least one ex-friend lurking in their past. This book helped us to figure out why such things happen and maybe even how to avoid it in the future!