Chapter 3 - Life With Mother

We are in the process of cleaning out my mother's house which means many back and forth trips from South Carolina to Maryland. This is an arduous process as we are trying to make sense and good decisions about a houseful of items collected over 50 years. Being a Depression baby, Mom saved everything! Some of the things we know we want, others we know have some value, and still others have no value to anyone (sorry Mom!). It also gives me a good understanding of how much stuff Dave and I need to clean out from our lives even though we have only lived in our house 13 years.

Anyway my down time is spent with family and friends, all of whom were happy to pitch in and help, God bless them. They have been by our sides through it all - offering support, energy, dinners, and practical advice. Of course, I couldn't do have of this without Dave, my sister, and the wonderful people I work with - Norma, Mary, Steph, and Winona who are holding down the fort while I am away.

So here are some books about friendships - may we always have good friends, be good friends, and read about good friends.

Women in Sunlight by Frances Mayes - This is one of the books I am reading for the Savannah Book Festival as Mayes will be attending and speaking. Women in Sunlight is a great book about female friendships, Tuscany, food, and second chances. I liked this so much I passed it off to one of my friends for Christmas.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah - Before her brilliant book, The Nightingale, Hannah wrote this beautiful one about two girls.who meet at age 13 and, through many adversities, remain or regain their friendship for life. I am blessed to have friends like this so this one really resonates for me. The sequel, Fly Away, is very good too.

Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King - King's husband, Pat Conroy, was well know to many but Cassandra King not so much. She is a wonderful writer as well and Same Sweet Girls is proof of this. This is the story of six friends who met in college. When one of them becomes ill, they go running to support her. Like all friendships there are secrets and bumps in the road which makes the book very readable.

Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral: A Novel by Kris Radish - Annie Freeman has died and has commissioned five friends, who don't know each other, to sprinkle her ashes in her favorite places. Instead of a sad event, the traveling funeral gives the women a chance to connect with others who loved Annie and to celebrate her life.

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman - Britt-Marie, a minor character in one of Backman's other books, has left her philandering husband and taken a job in the small town of Borg. With the financial crisis, Borg is a dying - almost dead - town. When she arrives, Britt-Marie is enveloped by most of the townspeople as she takes on things she never would have considered in her previous life.

Do you have any books about friendship you'd recommend? Just let me know.

You can order these and other books at www.bookendsonline.com.