One of the pleasures of reviewing books is reading some that you might never normally have picked up. Irene S. Levine, PhD, has written a book called Best Friends Forever; Surviving a Breakup With Your Best Friend and a copy was sent to me for a review. I’m glad it was because, otherwise, I’d have missed out on a good read – and I don’t have an issue with my friends. The book title is a bit misleading because it really isn’t just for women who are struggling with a friendship, but I think any woman would benefit from it.
Published by Overlook Press, New York, this 257-page soft cover book is an easy read and divided in such a way that you can put it down and pick it up later without having to remember what you’d read earlier.
Chapters
There are 10 chapters in the book, each divided into shorter sections. The chapters address topics such as:
- Understanding Female Friendships
- Why Friendships Fall Apart
- Moving On
The author uses stories from women who responded to a call for friendship stories. This approach makes the book more personal, in my opinion. Many of the stories reminded me of people I knew and their friendships, if they didn’t remind me of mine.
Sidebars
Throughout the book, there are boxes set aside with tidbits of information. These can be read as part of your first go through or you can go back and look at them later. The boxes include:
- Just Married: Keeping the Friendship Alive
- College Friendships
- Warning Signs of a Waning Friendship
I liked the book. I wasn’t sure when I began to read it what I would think. I have a few very dear friends, one from college – which was a long time ago – and another who I’ve been friend with for about 15 years or so. I have lost friends over the years, sometimes my fault, sometimes not. But the book helped me understand some things, including the differences between male friendships and female friendships.
Full disclosure: the above link is part of my affiliate with Amazon, so if you buy through that link, I do get a referral bonus.
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