"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." Albert Camus describes in these words what friends do best, accompany us through the travels and travails of life.
Staff Picks
For 20 years, an outspoken New York writer and a rather more restrained London bookseller carried on an increasingly touching correspondence. Charming and beguiling.
Network correspondent Sara James and wildlife filmmaker Ginger Mauney are seen through the lens of their thirty-year friendship. They alternately narrate the story of how, separated by thousands of miles, they find themselves bound together by temperament, circumstance, and serendipity. The sum is even more powerful than the two parts.
Drawing on extensive interviews, police reports and his own reporting, Cullen pieces together what happened when 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold killed 13 people before turning their guns on themselves at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Readers will come away from this account with a deeper understanding of what drove this combustible pair. Unflinching and remarkable.
These college roommates went in different directions after they graduated. Kate married and went to Kenya with her husband to teach with the Peace Corps, while Hilary attempted to conquer Manhattan, yet they maintained their friendship and found comfort and sustenance in their exchanged letters. In an age of cell phones, e-mail and instant messaging, these long detailed letters are wonderful!
Meet eleven childhood friends who formed a special bond growing up in Ames, Iowa. Eventually they moved to eight different states, yet managed to maintain an enduring friendship that would carry them through college and careers, marriage and motherhood, dating and divorce, a child's illness and the mysterious death of one member of their group. Moving and inspirational.
Inspired by memories of childhood friends who opened her up to experiences beyond her family and neighborhood, the author discusses friendships across cultural, ethnic, and language barriers. Kephart's writing is luminous, filled with phrases that are worth committing to memory.
A memoir that portrays the intense friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and her doctor, David Gurewitsch, also provides a unique look at Mrs. Roosevelt as she continued to have a profound impact on world events.
An historical icon revisited.
At 21, Gilot met 62-year-old Picasso. For nearly a decade, she shared her life with this complex artist, giving birth to two of his children. In her recollections, she describes the world they knew together. A vivid and fascinating portrait.
The poignant story of Nathaniel Ayers, a Julliard-trained musician who becomes schizophrenic and homeless, and his friendship with Steve Lopez, the Los Angeles columnist who discovers and writes about him in the newspaper. A fast-paced, honest, eloquent story of heartbreak and hope.
The reasons are myriad, but the end of friendship, no matter its cause, is often distressing, and that feeling usually lingers. This selection of very personal pieces is a gem.
Herein unfolds a complicated lifelong friendship between the reclusive poet and the minister, man of letters and abolitionist. The two met face-to-face only twice. Drawing on 25 years' worth of Dickinson's letters (Higginson's are lost) the author shows that in her poems and letters Dickinson was the consummate flirt, a sorceress. Rich with insight.