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Friends from Home
By Lauryn Chamberlain
Fiction
Dutton (May 18, 2021)
302 pages
What an amazing thing, friends. I can remember my very first best friend. Her name is Beth and even now, 40+ years later and thousands of miles apart, we still talk! Now our conversations revolve more around her grandchildren (she has 5!) and memories of growing up, and less about cute boys and parties. However, I consider us still very much connected. Throughout school and college and my 20’s and 30’s I never had a problem meeting people and making friends; I have been very, very blessed. But as fun (and necessary) as friendships are, sometimes they can be….tricky. People grow. Time and experiences change us. And some friendships just don’t survive those things.
“Friends from Home” is about a lifelong female friendship between Jules and Michelle. How “happily-ever-after” DOESN’T always mean marriage. How new people come into our lives and sometimes, people leave. How the people we think will always be there, aren’t.
After high school, Jules and Michelle go their separate ways. Jules heads off to New York and Michelle stays closer to home. When Michelle asks Jules to be her maid-of-honor, their friendship is put to the test as their late 20’s selves’ clash.
As the wedding day approaches, Jules tries to be there for her oldest and dearest friend, but finds that their worlds no longer fit together as easily as they once did. Flying home multiple times to partake in the festivities doesn’t exactly “fit” into Jules schedule. Add in Michelle’s friends and traditions back home in Alabama, and this NYC girl’s nerves are brought to the breaking point.
The author does a great job of showing how Jules’ life is affected by this wedding, but also how Michelle – who is getting married and should be living her best life right now- handles the friction between the two. There is drama and fighting and some intense parts to this story, which makes it one I thoroughly enjoyed.
I found myself wanting the “happily-ever-after” for Jules and having to remind myself that DIDN’T mean marriage. She is a writer! I was rooting for her to get her stuff published already.
I related so much to this book. After losing my husband somewhat suddenly almost 7 years ago, my life – and friends list- changed dramatically. At first, I thought it was that I just wasn’t a good friend anymore. That my sadness somehow took away my ability to care about others and be around them. What I learned was that the trauma altered me. I’m different. And you know, that’s ok. We have to change and grow. Whether by trauma, our experiences, or simply time moving on, we simply aren’t the people we were at 15, 25, 30. The friendships that survive, survive. The ones that don’t…..just don’t.
Despite everything, there is something to be said for people who have known you your entire life. Strong relationships WILL stand the test of time and while these characters will both have to work on their new normal, I really liked how it ended. I found myself questioning the beginnings and ending of my own relationships.
Is a long history with someone a reason to remain friends? Do we stay in relationships longer than we should, just because we’ve “invested” so much time into them? Do they become more of a “habit” than anything else? What would happen if we let friendships run their course and gently let them go, instead of holding on, waiting for the inevitable blow up or fight that severs everything once and for all? Jules and Michelle’s friendship worked for years because they weren’t in the same city. Calls here and there, keeping that connection, but not in each other’s day to day lives. Don’t all friendships tend to move in that direction?
If you are lucky enough to keep those decade long friendships, count yourself blessed. But if not, we have this amazing ability to remember. So, keep those memories. Write them down, tuck them away in your suitcase of memories in the attic to be opened in 50 years by your great-granddaughter when she inherits your home and finds all your treasures. (Yeah, I’ve read WAY too many books, friends).
A solid read, enthusiastically recommended to everyone who has ever had a friend.
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