I talk a lot about friendship here at Flying with the Phoenix because without friendship, life would be very lonely. Friends help us heal, they teach us, and they nurture us.
As life flows, friendships have a tendency to move on. Patricia Sands has taken a look at the friendships that last in her book The Bridge Club. This work of fiction, based on her real life friendships that has spanned 40 years. The eight women in this novel have survived life’s challenges and despite the fact they only meet once a month have supported one another in ways even their families can’t comprehend.
Life can hand us a lot of lemons, yet it’s the support of honest and loyal friends that really make the day. For not one, but eight friends to accept the differences in one another and honor the individuality is a miracle.
Some would say that Patricia has painted an unrealistic picture. I’d tend to agree, except having gotten to know Patricia in Kristen Lamb’s class Blogging for Branding, I can tell you she herself is genuine when she describes her real life Bridge Club. I know the possibility for these friendships is real.
I related right away with the first character in The Bridge Club, a woman who took some time to find herself and ended up at sea on a sailboat. This sabbatical from her circle of friends might have changed the dynamics of the group, but somehow they found a way to include Cass in each months get together despite separation and at the time, a real struggle in forms of long distance communication.
As each chapter progresses you are introduced to these unique women who live life despite their individual struggles through the support and friendship of a club which gets together to play cards. The card game is the glue that brings them together, but it’s the friendship that binds them to meet the final struggle they must all face when one woman makes a choice that needs the ultimate support.
If you have or have experienced friendships that can span decades, you’ll want to get a copy of The Bridge Club for yourself. You can order it here.
This week I have the honor of sharing my time with Patricia and her blog Everyone Has a Story. I encourage to you visit her site and get to know a truly remarkable woman who has done it all. Patricia has graciously offered a free copy of her book to one of my readers. So leave a comment on my blog and at the end of the week I will draw a name from the hat.
Do you have a story of friendship that has spanned the decades? What one activity binds you to friends you’ve had for a lifetime?
I am still friends with my very first friend. We met the first day of kindergarten on the bus. We don’t see each other now living in different states, but we still keep in touch. Facebook has made it much easier to keep in touch with her as well as many other friends from high school.
Vickie, I so agree Facebook has made staying in touch a lot easier. It’s great to have lifelong friends. It’s even better to make new ones along the way. Friendship like love grows exponentially.
Wow, kindergarten! That’s wonderful, Vickie. Thanks to the internet it is so much easier to stay in touch – you are so right about that!
Nancy, thanks so much for inviting me over to your blog. I wish I were going to actually be able to sit and chat with you on the Fawkes! I love your review of The Bridge Club and the way you were able to believe in the kind of friendship these women share. It does exist and I often hear from readers who tell me about similar friendships they share. I love to hear about it. Women’s friendships don’t need to be about drama queens and conflict! Who wants to have time for that? Thanks for this!
Patricia, this week is going to be so much fun! I so glad to have you with us here on Fawkes and in a way we are chatting in the cockpit. I’ll raise a toast to you this evenings sundowners.
Morning Nancy and Patricia!
I envy people who have long-lasting friendships. I have quite a few people I know from my highschool days that I still chat with, but I’ve always been mostly a loner. Facebook and Twitter I think have been a big help to people with long distance friendships – I can still keep up on my friends in Virginia, Canada and California without leaving home!
Well you certainly have a load of new friends in Wana711, Carrie!
Carrie, the internet is great! Sometimes we have friends like in The Bridge Club and sometimes its just one or two friends for a lifetime. All are special.
I met my best friend when we were like three-years-old and our moms took us to Moms & Tots together. We’ve had ups and downs and periods of not staying in touch, but we’re closer now than we’ve ever been.
Friendships aren’t always easy to maintain, Angela. They become all the more meaningful when you can work through “issues” and remain connected. Good for you!
Angela, I think this is absolutely fantastic. My BFF came from Junior High. It may be years between talks, and yet, it’s like yesterday when we pick things up again.
Wonderful post and fahhhbulous peak into the Bridge Club (which I am nearly done reading)!
I have a best friend in my life that has been there for nearly 30 years and I think what binds us together is our history and past of sticking by each other through thick and thin. We may not see each other often. And we may not even talk often. But if ever we need each other, we are there. And that’s a comfort that runs deep.
“a comfort that runs deep” – That’s a wonderful definition for friendship, Natalie!
Natalie those are the best kind.
I can tell you that I absolutely loved, loved, loved The Bridge Club. Talk about a feel-good, warm fuzzies, sad, happy, heart-felt novel. I do believe friendships such as those in this novel are for real. I have that same feel with my Wana’s. Thank you, Nancy for your beautifully written post highlighting Patricia and her novel!
Thanks Diana. I love, love, love how you feel about The Bridge Club. I agree that the friendship of our Wana group grows more special as time goes by and the connections feel so right. Lucky us!
You’re welcome Diana and I agree about our WANA!
I really enjoyed reading The Bridge Club too. I love how she told the story of different women and tied it all together with the club. I have a good friend from high school that I hope will always be my best friend.
Thanks Jillian! It’s really fun to have a best friend to share all those high school memories. I’m going to visit overnight with a friend from high school next week and I know there will be a lot of laughter.
Jillian I loved The Bridge Club as well and best friends are truly a blessing.
Hi, Nancy. I landed here from Diana Murdock’s tweet, and I’m so glad. First, The Bridge Club looks like a great book to add to my list! And second, my fiction tends to be about women’s relationships – friends, mother/daughter, sisters, etc. So I’m off to browse your posts, and I look forward to reading more!
Jennifer, welcome aboard Fawkes, our floating home into all things about life. I’m sure you’ll enjoy The Bridge Club and all it signifies.
I still keep in touch with friends from school and college, but we are not as tight as we once have been. The problem is in distance – all of them live in Europe, some in my native Poland, some in Germany, England, or other countries. We see each other every few years, whenever I’m visiting my family in Poland. Now with the Facebook and other social media sites, staying in touch is easier than before.
Distance does make it more difficult, but I’m sure you find once you do see those friends it’s as if no time has passed after all. Good for you for making the effort.
Angela, I especially know about distance between friends and am so glad for the chance to stay in touch through the internet. I think as this social media evolves, some of us will definitely use it to strengthen friendships from afar.
I have three women that I’ve known for sixteen years that I’m friends with. Over the years we’ve married, had kids, and moved to different parts of the DFW metroplex, but we religiously get together once a month and have dinner. We joke that we’ll be old ladies still getting together for dinner, but we won’t be able to hear each other!
That’s great, Traci! You’ll be surprised how quickly those years will fly by … but you probably won’t feel old. That seems to be the way it happens. Keep on having those dinners!
Traci I think that’s absolutely wonderful. Don’t for a minute give up those monthly dinners. They are food for the soul!
A great post. I have not been reading much lately. This is a book I must checkout. 🙂 Friendships come and go. Those I have had the longest are ones I made in school. One Jr. High buddy is now my boss! A college friend and I try to see each other twice a year. Not sure the glue that binds. But it must be shred experiances and common likes and dislikes. 🙂 Crafting friends I gather with monthly, too … wwe miss you. 🙂 Hugs…
Carol, it sounds like you have done a great job of staying connected. You’re right that there has to be “glue that binds”. Maintaining friendships takes time and effort.
Patricia is amazing and her book is awesome! The friendships are something I’ve never known and instead of being jealous that those ladies had each other, I celebrated in their triumphs and cried with them when life didn’t go exactly as planned. Now I’m one of the lucky ones to know Patricia for real (well, cyber real!)
The feeling is mutual, Tameri! You certainly have a wonderful collection of cyberfriends and hopefully we will all get to meet each other. Gotta work on it!
My best friend and I have known each other 23 years. Gasp. Our favorite activity over the years has been road tripping. We just get in the car and drives for hours sometimes for a weekend. Doesn’t matter it’s the journey there that we love. Singing songs along with the radio, stopping at random places to eat. And just being in each other’s company. 🙂
Oh I love that story, Kourtney! It sounds like a very, very good time and it’s wonderful that you make the effort to keep up the tradition.
p.s. You will gasp even more when it’s 43 years … but, guess what, you won’t feel any different!
I’m so sorry I’m late to this party but I’ve been out of town. Thank you Nancy for the wonderful post about friendship and Patricia’s book. The Bridge Club is on my TBR and making it’s way to the top. I’m so looking forward to a sunny winter day, a pot of tea, a cozy throw and The Bridge Club.
I have a girlfriend that I’ve had since sixth grade. She’s single and travels here from Toronto to stay out in the “wilds” at our home in rural Indiana. I think our friendship has lasted because we’ve kept in touch even though the other friends in our group fell away. We don’t know why we’re the only two who keep things going. Barb and I wish we could get everyone together like your Bridge Club Patricia. Perhaps I’ll get some tips from the book.
Just keep working on it and you can make it happen, Kate. It’s so nice that you and Barb have maintained the ties though. Where in Toronto does she live? It would be funny if we knew each other!
What a beautiful post about friendship! A lovely peek into The Bridge Club, which I am reading now!!! 🙂
I have a special friend who I met when I was about 3 years old. She got me sent to the principal’s office (the one and only time) and was a fellow arsonist with me (we were trying to start a fire in the fireplace by lighting paper towels in the kitchen and running them into the living room). Oh yeah. Lovely, lovely post, Nancy!
Haha! Now that’s friendship! It’s wonderful to have memories that go back that far.
Thanks Bridgette. Sounds like you had a Very Interesting friendship.
I had the pleasure of being featured in a phenomenal women post with Patricia and I feel so lucky to have met her that way. She is an inspiring woman and writer and I love her philosophy on life, which is her blog title too, “Everyone has a story.” I couldn’t agree more!
I would love to read Patricia’s book and get to know her even more as she tells about her friends’ experiences.
Nancy, thanks for sharing your story about which character you identified with. I’ve had friends leave my life that I would be around forever, so I am very enlightened to hear about the character who really did take time off, but was able to still be so active with her friends. What a cool topic. Would love to discuss in a book club!
Jess, Welcome aboard Fawkes. I too enjoy Patricia’s philosphy on life and love the fact that friends can leave our lives, but come back together again.
There’s no such thing as too many girlfriends…or friends in general. My longest friendship with a guy I grew up with…been friends for 58 yrs. My closest girlfriend and I met at my daughter’s 6th birthday party. She agreed to be my co-leader in a Brownie troop and we’ve been very close now for 24 years.
I highly recommend Patricia’s book…you’ll laugh and cry right along with the members of The Bridge Club, and you won’t ever forget the women. Patricia is also a great friend and WANA sista!
Very nice tribute to friendship and to Patricia, Nancy.
Thanks Marcia!