This is a very special episode because it combines two of my favorite topics—friendship and books. It’s specifically about novels and memoirs about friendship for adults.
FIND EPISODE #19 ON APPLE PODCASTS, SPOTIFY, OR ANYWHERE YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO PODCASTS!
When I was getting ready for this episode, I asked my newsletter readers about some of their favorite friendships in books. I got a letter from a reader named Rebekah Jacobs who wrote such a thorough response organized by categories that I knew I had found my kind of person AND the perfect guest for this episode.
Welcome to Rebekah Jacobs!
Rebekah is a former middle school English teacher and reading specialist. She coaches English teachers in Washington DC. She also reviews books for children Munchkin Fun. She lives with her hubby, 3 kids (a teen, tween, and toddler), and pandemic puppy in Maryland.
I took Rebekah’s list, moved one or two things around and added examples of my own. The list started getting long and unwieldy so we only spoke about some of the choices on the podcast. This post includes many more books than the ones we took the time to discuss!
And thanks to Pam Moore and Julie Lyon for leaving voicemails, too.
THE ULTIMATE LIST OF NOVELS AND MEMOIRS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP FOR ADULTS
SOME NOTES:
- I well aware that this list does not include every book ever written about friendship. If you comment below with a suggestion, I will consider adding it. But no promises! It’s already pretty long.
- I did not include “how-to” friendship books. I will likely do a different episode for those books.
- Neither Rebekah nor I could get into My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. We know that’s a fail on our part somehow.
- Some of these are books I read, some Rebekah read, some we both read. In only a few cases, neither of us read them.
- We did not include young adult novels, which would be a very long list, and that was really our point–we were searching for the books for adults.
BEST FRIEND OR SIDEKICK (“Ride or Die”)
Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
Mom Jeans and other Mistakes by Alexa Martin
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
FRIENDSHIP BREAKUP
The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart
The Friend Who Got Away edited by Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell (essay collection)
My Other Ex edited by Jessica Smock and Stephanie Sprenger (essay collection)
Best Friends by Martha Moody
Letters for Scarlet by Julie C. Gardner
THE BEST FRIEND WHO DIES
Beaches by Iris Rainer Dart
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
This Will All Be Over Soon by Cecily Strong (memoir)
TEST OF A FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN BEST FRIENDS
Something Borrowed by Emily Gifffin
We are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
One Day In December by Josie Silver
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Sula by Toni Morrison
FRIENDS WHO BECOME LIKE FAMILY “Framily”
Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
ENEMY TO FRIENDS
Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing by Allison Winn Scotch
GROUP OF FRIENDS
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
The Other’s Gold by Elizabeth Ames
Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan
In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch
Impossible to Forget by Imogen Clark
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (family, but almost like friends)
MENTOR
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abe Dare
MEMOIR
(Note: I didn’t add “how to” books because I write about them often as their own category.)
Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
Dear Exile by Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery
Share Your Stuff: I’ll Go First by Laura Tremaine
Nowhere Girl by Cheryl Diamond
The Girls From Ames by Jeffery Zaslow
Text Me When You Get Home by Kayleen Schaefer (mix memoir and pop culture)
Big Friendship by Aminatou Sow, Ann Friedman (mix memoir and research)
MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche (mix memoir and research)
We Need To Hang Out by Billy Baker (mix memoir and research)
EDITED TO SAY: The Following Books Were Added By Members of the Dear Nina Facebook Group!
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Pachinko by Min Jee Lee
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
The Cast by Amy Blumenfeld
Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan
Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
FIND EPISODE #19 ON APPLE PODCASTS, SPOTIFY, OR ANYWHERE YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO PODCASTS!
Affiliate links to Amazon might earn me a few pennies. Thanks!
Let’s connect over all things friendship!
-
-
- My Substack newsletter about friendship & more
- A guide to pitching yourself as a guest
- Instagram , TikTok, Twitter, Youtube, Threads
- JOIN the Dear Nina Facebook group
- Ask an anonymous question
-
Latest posts by Nina Badzin (see all)
- Dear Nina in The Guardian - May 1, 2024
- Overtalking, Undertalking, and Lessons for Friendships in the Art of Storytelling - April 30, 2024
- Dear Nina in The Wall Street Journal - April 27, 2024
- 5 Friendship Issues to Consider Addressing with a Therapist - April 17, 2024
2 Responses
Loved this episode! Yes you DO need to meet Rebekah-you seem like old friends! So many great recs!
I bet we will meet one day! We actually have tons of friends in common.