This the second book I have read by Jeffrey Zaslow, I loved The Last Lecture and had high expectations for The Girls from Ames. Click through to the website for The Girls from Ames to watch a video clip, meet the girls and much more.
Type: Biography, 330 pages, Trade paperback
Synopsis: As children, they formed a special bond, growing up in the small town of Ames, Iowa. As young women, they moved to eighth different states, yet they managed to maintain an extraordinary friendship that would carry them through college and careers, marriage and motherhood, dating and divorce, the death of a child, and the mysterious death of the eleventh member of their group. Capturing their remarkable story, The Girls from Ames is a testament to the enduring, deep bonds of women as they experience life's challenges, and the power of friendship to overcome even the most daunting odds.
The girls, now in their forties, have a lifetime of memories in common, some evocative of their generation and some that will resonate with any woman who has ever had a friend. The Girls from Ames demonstrates how close female relationships can shape every aspect of women's lives-their sense of themselves, their choice of men, their need for validation, their relationships with their mothers, their dreams for their daughters-and reveals how such friendships thrive, rewarding those who have committed to them. With both universal events and deeply personal moments, it's a book that every woman will relate to and be inspired by.
Quick Take: Recommend - Be patient when you start this book. There are eleven characters to meet and this takes a little bit of time. It took about 50 pages for me to feel a connection to the women. Once I reached page 50 I started wishing that I had friends from my childhood in my life today, a group of women who knew me from the cry room at church.
When I finished reading this book I was a little sad, a good sad. I don't have a group of friends like this and found myself a little jealous from time to time. Being from Minneapolis may have helped me connect to parts of the story, I am familiar with the cities mentioned, demographics and more.
Have you read this book? Do you have any 20+ year friendships (are they acquaintances or close friends today)?
Source: Review Copy