Title: MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend
Author: Rachel Bertsche
Publication Date: December 20, 2011
Length: 349 pages
Rachel Bertsche moved to Chicago to be with her boyfriend, tired of being in a long-distance relationship. But before long, while she's happily married, she realises that her new life is missing one very important thing: friends. She's still close to the people she left behind in New York, but still, they're in New York. She wants someone she can call for a last-minute brunch or pedicure. So, she goes on a search for a new BFF, in which she goes on a friend date with a different woman every week for a year.
It's hard for me to even put into words just how much I love this book. I loved it before I even read it, and then I read it, and loved it more. That's because it focuses on a very real and unfortunate phenomenon: it's considered acceptable for a woman to admit she's looking for a man, yet the response to a woman admitting she's looking for a best friend is generally some variation of pity.
I can completely relate to the author of this book. There have been a handful of girls I've considered my best friends during my life. Of those, I'm only still close with one of them. Her name is Megan, and she lives in Vancouver. I see her when she comes back to Winnipeg for holidays, and I went on vacation in Vancouver to visit her last summer. And I know she's my BFF because, even though we both utterly suck at calling and emailing, when we see each other it's as if no time has passed. I'm very lucky to have her as a best friend.
So that's the upside of my friendship situation. (Is this book review getting weirdly personal? Oh well.) The downside is that here in Winnipeg, I, like Rachel, don't have someone I could invite to go wedding dress shopping with me. You see, all my local friends are guys. I studied computer science in university. You meet a lot of guys there, and not a whole lotta ladies. So now I have a group of friends who are super fun, and I can meet them for lunch in the food court, but I cannot call them to talk about feelings. Well I could, but they'd be weirded out, and would not give me the responses I'd need. They certainly wouldn't talk about their feelings.
So anywho, as I read this book, and saw all the ways that Rachel got herself out there meeting new people, I became inspired. I started thinking about how I could go from someone who spends the vast majority of my personal time on my computer or curled up with a book to someone who has more of a balance in life. And I'm already noticing a difference. I'm not going on a friend date every week or anything, but I am getting out there, and it's been really fun.
So, now that you know all about my personal life (hey, that's like the point of the blogosphere, no?), you should read this book! In fact, you should start a book club with a bunch of girls you don't know, and then read this book together. Maybe you'll find your BFF.
This book gets all the stars.
Title: Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives for Independent Brides
