We see that javascript is disabled or not supported by your browser - javascript is needed for important actions on the site. Read more

What's New - Home - Login

Member $avings: $81,544,714.19 | Books Available: 800,461 | Members Online: 42

Swap Used Books - Buy New Books at Great Prices!

How To Swap Books Sign Up Search submenu

PBS Market (New Books)

Gift Buying Guide

Book Browser Advanced Search Books Posted Today Member Book Reviews Award Winning Books NYT Best Sellers Amazon Best Sellers Most Traveled Copies Club Wish List

Discussion Forums Book Lists

Club Lists My Book Lists My Watched Lists Create a List

Blog Donations

School Donation Program In Memory of... Military Donation Program Friends of PBS

Box-O-Books Maps The Eclectic Pen Fun Stuff

20 Questions Sudoku Bookmark Creator

Top 100

Requests Posts Swappers Referrers Reviewers

Pulse of PBS Spread The Word

Invite Friends Bookmarks Facebook Page Facebook App More Ways...

Photo Gallery Recipes Club Tag Cloud Member Testimonials

Help Center submenu

How To Swap Books Browse Help Docs Ask the Librarian PBS Member Icons Live Help

Kiosk

PBS Market (New Books) Go Shopping Buy Credits Buy PBS Money Upgrade Membership Gift Certificates Transfer Credits

Need Help?

Search - I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives

I Know Just What You Mean The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives
Author: Ellen Goodman, Patricia O'Brien

"Friendship matters to women; it matters a lot; women today -- with lives often in transition -- depend on friends more than ever. Many who once believed marriage was the center of life...now know that friends may be the difference between a lonely life and a lively one." In I Know Just What You Mean, Pulitzer prize-... more »winning columnist Ellen Goodman and novelist/journalist Patricia O'Brien provide a thoughtful, deeply personal look at the enduring bonds of friendship between women. Friends for over a quarter of a century, they bring to their book the unique mix of insight and humor that only such a long and rich relationship can produce. "You might say we've been writing this book for twenty-six years. Maybe it's the logical outcome for two writing friends. It amazes us now to look back and see what we've been building: the story of our friendship is the story of our divorces, our children, careers, loves, losses, remarriages. We rarely made a move without each other's opinion or listening ear...We moved from youth through middle-age with the requisite accumulation of both wisdom and caution that -- when shared -- made each of us stronger than we would have been alone." Drawing on interviews with numerous women from all stages of life -- teenagers, young mothers, elderly women, women in politic and business, sports and media celebrities -- the authors reach beyond their own experiences, providing an intimate look at friendships that begin everywhere from kindergarten to nursing homes. They tell the touching, funny, and sometimes painful stories of women who don't shy away from confronting the problems and demands of friendship. "When we asked women how they defined what a close friend is, they leaped past such qualifiers to describe the impact: being known and accepted, understood to the core; trust and loyalty you can count on, having someone on your side. Having someone to share worries and secrets as well as the good stuff of life. Someone who needs you in return." The authors explore the problems of famous friends -- how do you stay close when your best friend is one of the richest and most powerful women in the world? They write about friendships that have endured through hardship and misfortune, survived the problems of competing with each other. Looking through history and Hollywood, real life and fiction, they get to the heart of relationships between women. "Somewhere in the meaning of the word 'trust' is the assumption that a friend has your best interest at heart. Friends can be the collaborators, the instigators who make change possible. They are often the ones who urge us to take a leap, who jump with us or help us scramble back up the other side." Throughout the book, there is an ongoing dialogue between Goodman and O'Brien that is sure to resonate with every woman who cherishes her female friends. "Talk is at the very heart of women's friendship, the core of the way women connect. It's the given, the absolute assumption of friendship. It can be serious or funny, painful or exuberant, intense or joyous. But at the heart of the connections made is one sentence that women repeat over and over: 'I know just what you mean.'"

ISBN-13: 9780684842875
ISBN-10: 0684842874
Publication Date: 5/10/2000
Pages: 304
Rating:

Currently 4.4/5 Stars.

4.4 stars, based on 9 ratings

Publisher: Simon Schuster
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Sari Lynn G. (sari-lynn) - , reviewed I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives on 11/1/2005 + 207 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

A heartwarming look at the nature of women's friendships.

Share/Like this Review?

Read All 3 Book Reviews of "I Know Just What You Mean The Power of Friendship in Womens Lives"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

Robin P. (RSVP) reviewed I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives on 9/1/2006 + 17 more book reviews

My best friend sent me this book! A great discussion of long term friendship between women.

Share/Like this Review?

Tish O. (tish) - reviewed I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives on 12/7/2005 + 384 more book reviews

this book,written by best friends, is a very good book. it will make you laugh. it will make you sigh. it will make you happy and it willmake you sad. you will recognize yourself and your best friend on many of the pages. i could not have given up my copy of this book,it is too dear.
enjoy the good read!

Share/Like this Review?

Read All Book Reviews of "I Know Just What You Mean The Power of Friendship in Womens Lives"

Genres:

Biographies & Memoirs >> General
Biographies & Memoirs >> Specific Groups >> Women
Health, Fitness & Dieting >> Relationships >> General
Nonfiction >> Women's Studies >> General

Back to the Top ↑

Search - I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives

Top Member Book Reviews

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

Loading...