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The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship |  | Author: Jeffrey Zaslow
Publisher: Gotham
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy Used: $1.98
as of 9/9/2010 05:50 MDT details
You Save: $14.02 (88%)
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Seller: goodwillbooks
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 16568
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 1592405320
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.40922777546
EAN: 9781592405329
ASIN: 1592405320
Publication Date: April 6, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9781592405329 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
The instant New York Times bestseller, now in paperback: a moving tribute to female friendships, with the inspiring story of eleven girls and the ten women they became, from the coauthor of the million-copy bestseller The Last Lecture
As children, they formed a special bond, growing up in the small town of Ames, Iowa. As young women, they moved to eighth different states, yet they managed to maintain an extraordinary friendship that would carry them through college and careers, marriage and motherhood, dating and divorce, the death of a child, and the mysterious death of the eleventh member of their group. Capturing their remarkable story, The Girls from Ames is a testament to the enduring, deep bonds of women as they experience life's challenges, and the power of friendship to overcome even the most daunting odds.
The girls, now in their forties, have a lifetime of memories in common, some evocative of their generation and some that will resonate with any woman who has ever had a friend. The Girls from Ames demonstrates how close female relationships can shape every aspect of women's lives-their sense of themselves, their choice of men, their need for validation, their relationships with their mothers, their dreams for their daughters-and reveals how such friendships thrive, rewarding those who have committed to them. With both universal events and deeply personal moments, it's a book that every woman will relate to and be inspired by.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
Makes you want to give your girlfriends a big hug! August 14, 2010
T. Leibfried (Iowa)
A friend (of course) sent me this book after she read and LOVED it. She's going through a hard time in her life right and this book really brought her comfort and reminders that your old friends truly are always there for you. It's not a book I would have picked out for myself but I'm glad she shared it with me.
I found this sort of a strange topic for a book as there wasn't really a story or even truly a point. It was rather kind of just sharing memories and lives with a group of friends. There has been some criticism about how the author wrote this and initially I too thought it was rather scattered...but then when you think about it, how would someone write about 11 different people, their families and memories over the past 40 years? Pretty difficult task and I give the author a lot of credit for getting the job done.
Like I said, when I started the book I was thinking it was all a little disconnected...and it's a fairly good sized book so I was questioning if I really needed to read the whole thing after all....but, I pushed through because my friend sent it to me and I'm really glad I did. Once I got past the first several chapters everything settled in. I laughed, I cried, I was reminded of how lucky I also am to have old friends. This book was honest and touching and I think women like it because it brings them comfort. Safe and familiar-most of us can relate to several characters at different points in their lives. It also left me wanting to get all my friends together to tell them how much they mean to me. It was life changing in that I feel such a renewed sense of love for "my girls" as well as such joy that I've been lucky enough to have some good friends stick with me through the years. Women who see me for who I am, who know me when sometimes I don't know myself.
So, if you are looking for something different, something genuine and down home to remind you of how great your friends really are--despite their faults, your faults, disagreements, changes in life and miles that separate I think you'll really like this one.
And....some of the proceeds from the sale go to a girl's scholarship fund...so you can feel good about spending the money.
 Uninspiring ;-( July 2, 2010
S. Ingebretson
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I eagerly snatched this book from the shelves of an airport bookshop. The girls are from Iowa -- I'm from Iowa! They grew up in the 70s -- I grew up in the 70s! In fact, I went to school not far from Ames and even lived there for a short while. But, that's where the similarities ended. I tried, but couldn't identify with these girls. Somehow, I don't think it's due to them personally, or their experiences.
I couldn't help feeling that I was getting the author's take on it all, rather than on the true spirit of the girls' friendships. I feel I know (more than I want to) all about the author's political and religious interests. I know very little about most of the girls. I appears some were deemed unworthy of much mention.
The strangest part of the book was the organization. Having written a non-fiction book myself, I agonized over how to make the information flow properly. It's a tough job. Connecting one chapter to another and building concepts was paramount to me. It seems this author put very little thought into the chronology of his information at all. Like a mixed-bag of ideas, the chapters stop and start and often repeat ideas and messages as if they'd not been mentioned before. I know that's not entirely the author's fault, but who edited this book, anyway?
The saddest thing is that even though I SO wanted to love this book, I can't even say I liked it.
 Truly an inspiring story of friendship June 22, 2010
Gerrie B. Shaeffer (Goldsboro, NC)
I never thought when I read this book that I would get so interested in the lives of these 11 girls. But as I read I found myself immersed into every detail of the stories they shared. I laughed with them, I cried with them over the 2 deaths, and I really felt like I connected with several of the girls. As I read I could relate to differnt girls at different times. I am a lot like Karla because we both need our sleep and we both need our coffee or we are grumpy. I also can relate to Marilyn when she said she takes a "be-a-nice-mommy-instead-of-a-bitch-pill".
I never really thought about how much friendships really mean. I thought having one good friend was all that a person needed, but when my friend was killed in a car wreck I had noone there for comfort. After reading this book I have a new perspective on friendships and the impact they have on everyday living.
I give this book 5 stars and recommend it to everyone...whether you have a lot of friends or not.
Left Me Laughing, Crying and a Little Bit Jealous June 1, 2010
Daenel
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women & a Forty~Year Friendship is an intimate look at the friendships of eleven women over a forty~year period. Interspersed with studies that highlight the importance of the development and maintenance of close relationships in the health and well~being of women, The Girls from Ames is part sociology study, part biography and part cultural reference book. The women came of age just at the tail end of the Baby Boom, so they are the immediate benefactors of the women's rights movement and other social changes that marked the 60s, 70s and 80s. It was fun to read about the different hairstyles and clothes the women wore and the music they listened to as their stories unfolded, these cultural references provided a musical and visual backdrop against which their stories could be shared by women from different walks of life.
During a weekend reunion, the women shared the details of their relationships (some good, some bad) with author, Jeffrey Zaslow. They also invited him to look at scrapbooks, read emails, interview friends, quasi~enemies and family to find out what has kept the girls so closely knit when other relationships have unraveled. At points, it seemed that the ladies' relationships were ebbing but the women proved that they did not need constant contact to remain close, especially when email came about and they were able to simply hit "Reply All."
The women have supported each other through elementary school, high school and beyond. They've offered shoulders to cry on when they've been given devastating news and they've given tough love when it was warranted. But more than anything else, they've been there for each other. Even when they didn't agree with the choices that the other was making, they let their feeling be known and then they offered support... That the women were able to love each other unconditionally, even when the other's choices conflicted with their religious or moral beliefs was one of the things that stood out most to me ~ unconditional, unfailing, all~encompassing love.
In many ways, you can tell the author is a journalist; each vignette is punctuated by studies that point out the importance of life~long friendships to women and their health. At first, I found the analysis to be intrusive and more than a bit annoying, however, by the end of the book, I was impressed with how much these women supported the data presented. The overriding conclusion of all of the data presented in the book and supported by the women's lives indicates that women who have strong friendships live happier and healthier lives ~ and when diagnosed with an illness, their chances of survival are increased significantly.
Part of the charm of this story is that each woman offers something to the reader with which they can identify, but more than that is the emotional tug~of~war of the story. At points, I found myself laughing and other times I found myself crying. In the end, I found myself a whole lot jealous. These women have the type of friendship that goes beyond the casual acquaintances that many of us share. They are soul sisters in every sense of the word. I believe the greatest lesson to be learned from this book is to treasure the people around you and never take anyone for granted.
Disclosure: I received this book free from Penguin Group in exchange for a review. I am not required to write a positive review, just an honest one.
excellent service! May 19, 2010
Margie (Deer Park, NY United States)
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Excellent Service...book was actually received within 24 hours! (I expected "snail-mail" book delivery, and was very pleasantly surprised by the expedient service! ) Thank You!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
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