As an Iowa girl myself with many decades-long friendships of my own, I was interested in reading “The Girls from Ames: a Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship” by Jeffrey Zaslow. The fact that the book is about Iowa girls, from Ames no less, is a pull to read it in itself. After all, Ames is just up the road. I’ve been there, my niece went to college there, lots of people around here are Cyclone fans… it’s practically home!
And I am lucky enough to know about friendship. It’s funny how some people don’t keep in touch with anyone they went to school with and are absolutely amazed to learn that I have friends I’ve known almost my entire life. They’re even more surprised that several girls (52 years old, but girls yet) from my high-school class get together every year now in between our every-five-year entire class reunions. This summer we met at the Drake and had the best time, talking, laughing and reminiscing for hours until the entire place was dark and one lone man kindly and silently waited us out. We’re still emailing and chatting on Facebook about how much fun it was. I have two other best friends I haven’t known nearly as long, only twenty-four years! We’ve been through it all together and I can’t imagine life without those two. I know it’s definitely a woman-thing and maybe it’s mostly a Midwestern-woman-thing or at least a small-town-woman-thing but I do know that not everyone has that kind of friendship experience.
I was a little hesitant about the book though, because the author is a man. Can a man really get the enormity of the friendship of women? When I realized he was the co-author of Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture” I decided to give him credit that he probably understands emotions and family and love and friendship, at least more than your average guy. I imagine he had a few surprises though as he went through the months of talking to the Ames girls and hanging out at their get-togethers! It would have been fun to watch HIM listening to THEM.
The Ames girls, who are now in their forties, began their friendships in childhood. Between them, they have gone through all the things we all go through by the time we’re that age: death, loss, divorce, illness, career, motherhood, joy, and sorrow. Zaslow takes us through their lives, details who was best friends with whom, their families, disagreements, defining moments in their lives and lots of fun memories. When they get together, the years melt away and they see each other as they once were. (I call that looking at each other with high-school eyes.)
If you’re like me and the girls from Ames, read the book to enjoy their personal stories, the fun in growing up in an Iowa college town, and reminisce about your own friendships. If you’re not and have lost touch with old friends, read it to be inspired to reconnect with someone from your life. Find this book and others on friendship at the public library.
It’s going to be another busy week at your Burlington Public Library. Join us for family fun and entertainment. The release date for Miss Debbie’s first children’s picture book, “The Grouchies” is this Thursday, which is coincidentally, “National Grouch Day.” Published by the American Psychological Association’s 
“The Heretic’s Daughter” by Kathleen Kent