Girls from Ames : A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship

by Zaslow, Jeffrey (Author)

• ISBN13: 9781592405329
• ISBN10: 1592405320
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-06
• Publisher: Gotham

Summary

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 eight 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.

Author Biography

Coauthor of the international bestseller The Last Lecture, award-winning journalist Jeffrey Zaslow writes the Wall Street Journal's "Moving On" column, which has inspired several Oprah segments. He has also written for Time and USA Weekend.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. ix
A Guide to the Ames Girls	p. xvi
The Girls in the Photos	p. 2
Marilyn	p. 23
Karla	p. 43
Sheila	p. 59
Kelly	p. 73
The Things They Remember	p. 93
The Intervention	p. 115
FBB and Other Secrets	p. 129
Defining Love	p. 135
"If Not for You"	p. 143
The Bonds of Pop Culture	p. 157
Their First Child	p. 171
Tears in the Ladies' Room	p. 193
Cooperation and Appreciation	p. 207
News from Ames	p. 229
Through Kelly's Eyes	p. 241
Mysteries and Memories	p. 263
North of Forty	p. 279
The Game	p. 289
The Women from Ames	p. 297
Afterword	p. 313
Acknowledgments	p. 327
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