Letter 37: Our Friendship Favorites
Letter 37: Our Friendship Favorites
When we share what we're enjoying with others ~ Friendship Series Wrap-up
Happy Wednesday!
Molly and I have so enjoyed the past six weeks of our first-ever series. We have loved hearing from you on how you’ve enjoyed the series as well!
Today we welcome the final Wednesday of February as we wrap up our Friendship Series with a few of Molly’s and Emily’s favorite friendship-themed things. —Emily
“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”
― Elbert Hubbard
Molly’s 5 Favorites on Friendship:
It’s been enlightening and heartening reading and considering what our Friendship Series writers shared these last few weeks. I’m incredibly thankful for their vulnerability and self-reflection.
During the series, I too thought about how my own friendships have changed and also about how I currently stay connected to my friends both close and far away. In this busy season of raising little ones, as Jess alluded to, I often only get a chance to send a quick text or share a brief recommendation about something that’s giving me life. They are fleeting messages, threads connecting me to my people who are doing the same things I am (signing permission slips, carpooling to practices, making lunches) day after day.
So I thought it would be fun to share some of these connecting threads with you this week, as we wrap up this Friendship Series. These recent finds and favorites are small tidbits—fun recommendations that I thought perhaps our readers might enjoy as well!
I just finished an incredible stretch of great reading. (Don’t you love those?) These three books were absolutely fantastic for very different reasons and I honestly haven’t been able to stop thinking about them. The memoir Between Two Kingdoms is a symphony of resilience and vulnerability; the novel Oh William! is a beautifully lyrical tribute to marriage and relationships, and Great Circle has a protagonist that I will not soon forget. Absolutely fantastic books!
The podcast, Everything is Fine, is direct, honest, and pretty raw—focused on women in their 40s. I find the commentary to be thoughtful and interesting and I shared this episode, where the hosts interviewed Grace Bonney, with many of my friends and sisters.
My friends and I joke that a sign of aging is how our conversations now involve skincare, serums, and masks. So let’s keep with that theme. I love this serum’s price point and quality. Double win!
You may have seen this great Instagram account that recently went viral—momlife_comics. Mary Catherine Starr aptly illustrates many unspoken realities of being a mom today. I sent her account to several friends and they agreed immediately that she was singing our song.
I started reading Cup of Jo many years ago and it remains a longstanding favorite. One of my best friends and I frequently send COJ articles back and forth each week and (many times) the reader comments are just as good as the blog posts. Sometimes, when I’m looking for a new book, I use COJ’s What Books Are You Reading? posts and spend a long time in the comments because the recommendations are just that good.
Emily’s 5 Favorites on Friendship:
According to a recent study by the Survey Center on American Life, American friendships are on a steep decline, and “nearly one in five Americans reported having no close social connections.” These stats are absolutely wild to me, but of course, they also ring true.
But as we’ve seen over the past six weeks, friendships are incredibly important to our well-being. They make our lives richer, more enjoyable, and worth living. So, in the same vein as Molly, I wanted to share some of my favorite friendship-themed media.
It took me several episodes to get into the series Insecure, but I came to love Issa, Molly, Tiffany, and Kelli and their complex bond. The show presents as romantic, but these women’s friendships are truly what make the story shine.
I think my favorite movie friendship is between Cher and Dionne in Clueless. While Cher might claim that they’re best friends because “we both know what it's like to have people be jealous of us,” their bond is actually pretty deep for teenage girls.
Three of my favorite novels that capture the beauty and tenderness of friendships are Charlotte’s Web, Anne of Green Gables, and My Brilliant Friend.
I love to learn about famous friendships, and I went down the rabbit hole of Oprah and Maya Angelou’s cross-generational connection after reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings last month. Their bond is on full display in this interview from the early 90s.
Some solid friendship jams are Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” and Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me,” but the ultimate anti-friend anthem is Bob Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street.”
“‘Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.’”
― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web
With gratitude,
Molly + Emily
P.S. What’s a great friend-related something you’d like to share or what is something you’ve shared with your friend group recently? We’d love to hear!
Previous Posts from the Friendship Series
