B.F.F.: A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found

After years of coming to terms with her tendency toward toxic relationships, Tate (Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life) finally found a healthy relationship. Fellow group therapy member Meredith then suggests that Tate examine why her past friendships imploded. Tate recalls how in elementary school, she became a sycophant to stay friends with a popular girl. She nearly succeeded in keeping friends in high school until she started dating the first in a long line of alcoholic boyfriends. In the present, envy and feelings of inadequacy begin to taint friendships with other recovery-program members. Tate candidly narrates her discovery toward becoming a better friend and wonders if these failed relationships grew from her meager relationship with her younger sister. She freely admits her part in most of these breakdowns and details her emotions at the time. Juxtaposed with tales of friendships gone awry is the earnest story of Tate’s decades-long friendship with Meredith, who is 20 years older. In Meredith, Tate finds the sister she always wanted and the best friend she rarely had.