First published 2010
Gail Caldwell opens her memoir with a simple truth about friendship and loss. She and Caroline Knapp, author of Drinking: A Love Story, met because of their dogs and became inseparable companions. Both writers had battled alcoholism and understood each other's struggles with relationships, work, and books. They walked New England trails together and rowed the Charles River. The miles they covered outside reflected the emotional territory they explored together. These two independent, private women formed a bond neither expected. Their friendship taught them to value ordinary moments. Then Knapp received a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. Caldwell writes about the depths of devotion and the weight of grief as she watched her closest friend die. The memoir celebrates how intimate connections transform us and shows how friendship can illuminate life's loneliest and funniest moments, even when facing the ultimate challenge of death.
Genres: friendship, grief, memoir, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Charles River, New England
190 pages · Hardcover · Random House
Content warnings: death, terminal-illness