B.F.F. A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found by Christie Tate – 304 pages
ARC from the author for an honest review
Book Blurb:
After more than a decade of dead-end dates and dysfunctional relationships, Christie Tate has reclaimed her voice and settled down. Her days of agonizing in group therapy over guys who won’t commit are over, the grueling emotional work required to attach to another person tucked neatly into the past.
Or so she thought. Weeks after giddily sharing stories of her new boyfriend at Saturday morning recovery meetings, Christie receives a gift from a friend. Meredith, twenty years older and always impeccably accessorized, gives Christie a box of holiday-themed scarves as well as a gentle suggestion: maybe now is the perfect time to examine why friendships give her trouble. Christie isn’t so sure, but she soon realizes that the feeling of “apartness” that has plagued her since childhood isn’t magically going away now that she’s in a healthy romantic relationship. With Meredith by her side, she embarks on a brutally honest exploration of her friendships past and present, sorting through the ways that debilitating shame and jealousy have kept the lasting bonds she craves out of reach—and how she can overcome a history of letting go too soon.
My Review: 4 stars
B.F.F. A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found by Christie Tate was one that hit me hard. I lost my B.F.F. (Best Friend Forever) when I was forty-two, and it was through that friend that I learned the truest and rawest form of being a friend. So of course, that part of the book resonated with me deeply.
What I most admired about Tate’s book is her vulnerability and willingness to put the ugly and difficult on the page. Readers will be able to connect with her story in their own unique way. I imagine she’s getting lots of feedback from those she touched with her words.
You must be brave to try something new, to go out of the box and start change. I applaud her for doing just that and sharing it with the world. Her book Group did the same regarding her first time going to therapy. And whoops, I just realized I never wrote a review for Group, yikes. I’ll add that to my to do list. All in all, this book moved me and taught me more ways to be to be a better friend. Tate has a great sense of humor with a relatable voice that draws the reader in. Well done!
Quotes I liked:
…it was easy to become too busy for the emotional labor of ‘becoming a better friend.’”
