Customer Reviews

Getting Along Famously: A Celebration of Friendship

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Getting Along Famously has a lot going for it, from the stylish book jacket with its clever title to wonderful photos and glossy pages (all 193 of them). The subtitle, A Celebration of Friendship, sets the pace for what is to come. In her introduction, author Melissa Hellstern, writes: "Men may fix things, but women fix each other." Thus, we are led to the main focus of the book: stories of the friendships between twelve famous women that endured through divorce, rivalry, miscarriages, other struggles, until, in some cases, the death of one. Hellstern highlights friends of varying ages, talents, and dispositions, including a remarkable mother/daughter bond that thrives despite many years of strife.

The force that guides all these relationships is the women's ability to laugh at themselves. This is illustrated in an incident with Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance during the filming of their television show. The two have a spat on the set and stop talking to each other for a full day until just before show time, when Lucy breaks the silence to coach Vance for an upcoming scene. Vance asks: "Why didn't you say so before?" Lucy replies: "We weren't speaking, and I'd be damned if I'd tell you!"

Interspersed within the text are brief vignettes of other well-known friends that I found distracting, although, some readers may welcome the break. Inspiring and easier to digest are the quotations scattered throughout the chapters like handfuls of confetti.

Hellstern's book prompts me to examine my own friendships to see whether they need repair, attention, or simply gratitude. This is an enjoyable read about women we know as celebrities, but thanks to Getting Along Famously, we see them as friends.

by Diana Nolan
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

I really enjoy reading this book. Since it has two of my favorite actresss

in it.

I highly recommend it.

This book displays beautiful portraits of famous friends and stories of their friendships. It is uniquely crafted to allow the reader to find herself and her "BFF" in one of the stories.

I was given this book for a birthday present by my best friend, and I could not have asked for a better gift! The focus is mainly how the pairs became friends and remained friends throughout their careers and various life experiences. Among those highlighted are Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance, Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren, and Coco Chanel and Misia Sert.

Their stories reveal their mutual trust, personality differences, and bonds that transcend the grave. So, whether you are sharing pasta or changing the world, you will probably end up having a conversation about Metamucil, lol. You'll have to read the book to get that one.

The was an easy and enjoyable read about the beauty of friendship. A book that can be passed from friend to friend.