Personal essay (narrative nonfiction, brief memoir)
Date Published: Oct 19, 2020
Publisher: Jack Walker Press
Friendships serve as a cornerstone to a rich life. Each of these twenty-four accomplished authors shares authentic stories that consider the meaning of life affirming, sometimes life saving or gut wrenching, and fun realities of investing in each other: Think chicken soup with adult beverages.
Editorial Reviews:
"A thoroughly enjoyable and heartfelt read! This is an invaluable book for anyone seeking insight and comprehension of the convoluted and often misunderstood road we travel known as friendship. A definite 5-star rating!" --International Review of Books
"Friends: Voices on the Gift of Companionship will take you through the full spectrum of what it means to call someone "friend." It's the book you reach for when you need to feel connected to humanity." --Skye McDonald author of the Anti-Belle series
"The authors in this anthology come from a wide range of backgrounds, and share their stories of friendship with convincing, if often difficult, passages. ...We may still regard the gifts of shared histories as nourishment to sustain us." --Carol Barrett, Ph.D. Coordinator, Creative Writing Certificate Program, Union Institute & University; author of Calling in the Bones and Pansies.
"As the stories evolve, readers will relish the personal tones, touches, and explorations that consider the nature of friendship, its gifts and resiliency, and its lasting impact on all. ...an outstanding key to understanding how relationships evolve, change, pass, and often come full circle to become even more valued as the years go by." -- D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
What was your main drive to write this book? Thank-You Momma G. I’m so happy to be
discussing Friends: Voices on the Gift of Companionship with you. I am drawn to personal essays, and after
being published in dozens of anthologies and finishing my MFA in Writing, I
decided I’d like to explore themes via personal essays. Friends is the second anthology I assembled
in the Voices series, and the theme interests me because as a writer, I
can be selfish with my time. That can make friendships tricky. I do not need to have a datebook full of
social gatherings, but I do need meaningful connections. I sometimes wonder if I’ve kept my close-friends
list too small, but I’m guarded about being too social. Selfishly, reading, editing, and assembling
‘Friends’ has helped me to understand friendships with even more reverence and
acceptance.
What do you hope readers will learn by reading this book?
Readers are likely to cherish their friends, as well as come
to peace with the normalcy of friendships that burn out. Gifting ‘Friends’
offers a shared experience that communicates a deep caring.
Did you do much research when planning this book?
I studied the early
writings on friendship types from early Greek philosophers. They divided
friendships into categories such as those related to shared experiences, profitable relationships, and those that
represent unselfish love. While the
research wasn’t used in an obvious way, I did use these categories and more to
develop some frameworks that structure the arrangement of the personal stories
into chapters. Friendships don’t drop
easily into just one category, rather relationships tend to evolve or be temporary.
All types can be wonderful!
Did you have any main people who helped you in the process
of this book or influenced you to write it? Readers will find in the introduction and
concluding story a real-life character ‘Ginny.’ She’s a friend of mine who grew
into an alternate lifestyle, yet we managed to maintain a close
friendship. She and I live very
differently, which can put me in some uncomfortable situations, but love prevails. She’s a definite inspiration, and readers
tell me they find my Ginny tales quite entertaining. I did send her a copy of
the book pre-publication, and she loved it!
How long did this book take you to write from initial
thought to hitting publish? It took two
and a half years to get the calls of submission out, sort through, edit, make
final decisions, organize and more.
Do you have plans to write more about this topic or new
topics? We plan a series of articles
with the authors to further explore the themes of Friendship in their stories.
We are beginning work on these now and will publish them on the
JackWalkerPress.com blog ‘Dispatches from AL.’
Thanks so much!
About the Author
Contact Links
Purchase Links
Giveaway
paperback copies of Friends
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1 Comments
I enjoyed discussing FRIENDS with you: Thank you. Another way to win a free copy of Friends: https://jackwalkerpress.com/win-a-free-copy-of-friends-voices-on-the-gift-of-companionship/
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