by Jenny Offill, Elissa Schappell
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Product Description
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 near-universal experience, bringing together the brave, eloquent voices of writers like Francine Prose, Katie Roiphe, Dorothy Allison, Elizabeth Strout, Ann Hood, Diana Abu Jabar, Vivian Gornick, Helen Schulman, and many others. Some write of friends who have drifted away, others of sudden breakups that took them by surprise. Some even celebrate their liberation from unhealthy or destructive relationships. Yet at the heart of each story is the recognition of a loss that will never be forgotten.
From stories about friendships that dissolved when one person revealed a hidden self or moved into a different world, to tales of relationships sabotaged by competition, personal ambition, or careless indifference, THE FRIEND WHO GOT AWAY casts new light on the meaning and nature of women’s friendships. Katie Roiphe writes with regret about the period in her life when even close friends seemed expendable compared to men and sex. Mary Morris reveals how a loan led to the unraveling of a lifelong friendship. Vivian Gornick explores how intellectual differences eroded the bond between once inseparable companions. And two contributors, once best friends, tell both sides of the story that led to their painful breakup.
Written especially for this anthology and touched with humor, sadness, and sometimes anger, these extraordinary pieces simultaneously evoke the uniqueness of each situation and illuminate the universal emotions evoked by the loss of a friend.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Insightful and helpful, 2008-11-09
I enjoyed reading this book; it did help me through losing a friend. I like the variety of voices represented, some logical, others more emotional, and some of the stories are truly heartbreaking.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Must Read, 2008-07-31
I think I'm going to have to read this book now! I had someone for almost seven years whom I thought was a fantastic friend but she turned out to be less than that in the long run. I really regret the way I ended things, but if you're points are valid, sometimes things don't work out. I have since tried to make peace and that's the only real thing you can do in the end. If you are truly meant to have a relationship with someone you will, but the memories of all the fun times and times with their families who in many ways are like your own come back to haunt you many times in a bittersweet way. I'm so glad I know I'm not alone now.
4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
 Chicken Soup for the ex friend's soul, 2007-01-24
Eh, it was ok.
It's a great topic but I didn't like the way it was done. Even though some of the stories were gripping in their sadness or inevitability, I agree with the reviewer who found the stories largely elitist.
My principal complaint, though, is with the sameness of the writing. I felt like I was reading the same contributor again and again--checking the author bios, they are all professional writers, which assures a quality of narrative but also makes the stories strangely "of a kind." (In this way, the also-introspective "Chicken Soup" books are superior; no matter what the topic a variety of lifestyles--a variety of "voices"--is represented.) If somehow some teachers or pipefitters or cartoonists or singers or somebody other than introspective writers had contributed, it would have been a more interesting title.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Could not put this book down . . . !, 2007-01-04
The topic of the book's collection of essays was especially relevant and important to me personally, having had a few friendships break up over the years. I loved all of the various perspectives from each essay writer from their personal filter of the series of events and issues that contirbuted to the demise of a friendship. I loved the fact that the essays covered a wide range of issues between friends (death, marriage, divorce, money, distance, careers etc.) and representative of various life stages in women's lives (school-aged, teenagers, young adults, 20-something, 30-something and beyond). This book captures the emotionally charged, intense and often complicated relationships that women have with one another. A very worthwhile read for anyone who has been puzzled by a friendship gone awry for one reason or another. Really terrific book, well-written, well-organized and well-conceived.
0 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
 The Crucible of Women's Friendships, 2006-12-19
This is a wonderful book that most readers will enjoy. I think the vignettes or more illustrative of the vagaries of women's friendships, than, say, a more academic analysis of love, jealousy, betrayal and hurt feelings among friends.
My one and only complaint is that I hope she does a follow up book that looks at the same issue, but one that also includes online "friendships." I think that the increased use of myspace, facebook, and other bbs and online forums also provides fodder for this genre.
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