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Big Friendship cover art

Big Friendship

Written by: Aminatou Sow, Ann Friedman
Narrated by: Aminatou Sow, Ann Friedman
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Publisher's Summary

A close friendship is one of the most influential and important relationships a human life can contain. Anyone will tell you that! But for all the rosy sentiments surrounding friendship, most people don’t talk much about what it really takes to stay close for the long haul.

Now two friends, Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, tell the story of their equally messy and life-affirming big friendship in this honest and hilarious book that chronicles their first decade in one another’s lives. As the hosts of the hit podcast Call Your Girlfriend, they’ve become known for frank and intimate conversations. In this book, they bring that energy to their own friendship - its joys and its pitfalls.

Aminatou and Ann define big friendship as a strong, significant bond that transcends life phases, geographical locations, and emotional shifts. And they should know: The two have had moments of charmed bliss and deep frustration, of profound connection and gut-wrenching alienation. They have weathered life-threatening health scares, getting fired from their dream jobs, and one unfortunate Thanksgiving dinner eaten in a car in a parking lot in Rancho Cucamonga. Through interviews with friends and experts, they have come to understand that their struggles are not unique. And that the most important part of a big friendship is making the decision to invest in one another again and again.

An inspiring and entertaining testament to the power of society’s most underappreciated relationship, Big Friendship will invite you to think about how your own bonds are formed, challenged, and preserved. It is a call to value your friendships in all of their complexity. Actively choose them. And, sometimes, fight for them.

©2020 Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

What listeners say about Big Friendship

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Beautiful

This book felt like a hand reaching out to me and squeezing mine in understanding and compassion. Thank you to these two for making sense of one of a relationship I also did not know how to put into words. I used these concepts to make peace with a big friendship of my own. This book is a labour of love.

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Loved it!

This book helped me understand my broken heart as a result of the estrangement and breakdown of a longtime friendship. It helped me validate my emotions. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who cares about their friends.

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wonderful

this was a very good and honest book examining the concept of friendship. its looked at it from an individual's personal perspective, along with viewpoints from social scientists and historical existential thinkers, all looking at friendship. worth the listen.

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A must have for all big friendships!

I discovered this book through Alberta's Litfest a few months ago, and it has quickly become one of my favourites; it's truly a must-have for all those with Big Friendships. My best friend just ordered her own copy since I've been raving about it for weeks now, and I can't wait to hear about her journey as she starts this book.

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Better than I imagined

This is a must listen. An honest look at friendships and their important impact on your life

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Powerful Recollection of a True Love Story

This book was nothing like I expected. A powerful story of friendship, life, racism and hard work. These women used science, history and experience to paint a vivid picture of big friendship and the work required to keep it thriving.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with friends.

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A book you’ll want all your friends to read

Throughout listening to this audio book I found myself wanting to reach out to friends to share what I was hearing. From hearing about stretching and growing as friends, shown theory and the difficulty of fading apart; this book captures many of the stops along the route of friendship that myself and many of my friends have experienced. The authors read this book together making Big Friendship all the more enjoyable as their stories flow and there is an ease to listening. Highly recommended.

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Loved everything about it

These ladies know how to tell a story with research to back it up. Loved everything about this book.

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