Girlfriends: Invisible Bonds, Enduring Ties [Paperback]

Tamara Traeder (Author), Carmen Renee Berry (Author, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

Ask any woman and she will tell you that her friendships with other women are among the most important relationships in her life. In Girlfriends, Berry and Traeder explore the depths and complexities of women's relationships and the joy and sustenance they engender. Part inspiration and part storytelling, this is the ideal gift for a new friend, lifelong friend, special friend or best friend.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As important as friends are to women--essential, after all, to their identity as human beings--other roles in their lives get most of the ink: their lovers, spouses, children, and family. Girlfriends lovingly--and somewhat exhaustively--spotlights female comradeship. This book (which screams, "Buy me as a gift!") is simply a collection of women speaking about aspects of their female friendships to the indefatigable interviewer-slash-authors. Major topics of the book include girlhood adventures, friendships during transitions such as marriage and children, remembering friends, et cetera. In an odd little postscript, Girlfriends lists methods of female bonding such as theme parties, things with quilts and teacups, and other rituals. After all the words that precede it, such a section seems like gilding the lily.

Relationships with lovers (male or female) thrum with a sexual undertone that works against the special distanced intimacy of friendship. As Girlfriends never tires of pointing out, only another woman knows what it is like to be a woman. A powerful antidote to alienation, friendships are a prime ingredient in a woman's life well-lived.

Review

...affirms the importance of forming female friendships and examines how they shape us. -- The Toronto Globe and Mail

...the little book that could. -- San Francisco Chronicle

Celebrates female relationships through a mix of anecdotes and quotations about solidarity. -- Newsweek

Friendship with other women contributes something men cannot: empathy, shared experience, understanding and role models.... Women's friendships are enjoying a resurgence of popularity.... Despite the demands of families and jobs, more and more women are rediscovering the joys of spending time with each other. -- The Minnesota Women's Press, feature story

In an unsteady world, girlfriends endure.... Women need women in these personally stressful times.... They really need to make connections with other women who understand what they face and with longtime friends who know their stories. -- USA Today feature story

The book [has] hit a chord with readers...it's something they can give to their friends to show their gratitude.... A success. -- The Quincy Herald-Whig, Quincy, IL

There is no woman who could pick up this book, and not soon find herself within the pages. And no friend of mine that won't "oooh" and "aaah" over the beautiful cover design when she rips open wrapping paper and ribbon. It's a sound I should be hearing regularly, as I plan on wrapping up more than a few of these gems. -- Small Press Magazine

What became clear in...the book is that your friends find you. These friendships emerge from your everyday life. -- the Poughkeepsie Journal, part of a friendship series

While movies and books have long celebrated male bonding, those about women friends were rare. Now that is changing. Women are celebrating cherished female friendships as never before. The evidence is in bookstores...and in the everyday lives of women who value other women.... A good read. -- Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Wildcat Canyon Press; 1st edition (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885171080
• ISBN-13: 978-1885171085
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #461,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dear, Sweet, & Beautiful, November 21, 2000

By 

njbookworm (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girlfriends: Invisible Bonds, Enduring Ties (Paperback)

This book was given to me by my best friend after finishing college. I will always treasure this thoughtful and special gift.

_Girlfriends_ is a collection of stories that explore and celebrate female friendship through the eyes, ears, and hearts of everyday women. Some of the women were friends for a lifetime, others for a short time. However, all understood and/or demonstrated the meaning of "true friendship." For example, the stories included everything from the thankful musings of a once-ill woman about the extraordinaty kindness of her girlfriends to a giggly account of how two eerily-simiar best friends met as assigned roomates their first day of college. (The latter tale struck very close to home in a wonderfully spooky way.)

While many of the stories tugged at the heartstrings, I never felt manipulated by the authors. (Note: Part of the reason why I don't like the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series is that I feel that the authors are just dying to make the reader clutch for the box of tissues.) Rather, I appreciated the "real" tone of the stories, as they read like good conversation shared over a nice pot of Hazlenut coffee.

Some readers have commented on the book's simple language and lack of depth. I don't think the goal here was to explore the psychology of friendship, rather I think it was intended to be a simple and beautiful celebration meant to be enjoyed by "Girlfriends" everywhere. Enjoy!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful!!!, April 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Girlfriends: Invisible Bonds, Enduring Ties (Paperback)

I am a girlfriend and fortunately, God has blessed me with some fabulous girlfriends. I found a close example of each of my girlfriends in this book. This book is so clever! It's fun to give to my girlfriends and laugh over the good, bad, ugly, ridiculous and bizarre times we have had...and these girls in the books had! It's a great book to read and to give away. Don't miss getting this one!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's the perfect gift to show how much you appreciate her., December 6, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Girlfriends: Invisible Bonds, Enduring Ties (Paperback)

If you want to show a special girlfriend just how much you appreciate her, I suggest you purchase this book and then go through and highlight all the significant parts that describe your friendship with her. It is guaranteed to bring a tear to her eye. It did mine.