At first glance, Julie Klam, a self-described neurotic New Yorker whose interests include going to bed early, might not seem an obvious choice for a BFF. After reading Friendkeeping, though, you'll want to friend her, on Facebook and IRL.
With so many how-to books on everything from marriage to motherhood, it's pretty awesome that Klam is putting the same amount of effort toward an ode to friendship. Friendships are something people seem to take for granted as we focus on our careers and families--not so with Klam. Even as a child--her family's only daughter, poor thing--she was gaga about her pals. Today, she values her adult friendships just as much.
Klam is nothing if not a loving and loyal friend. The energy she puts into friendship probably explains why she is blessed with a cherished coven of close compadres. She explains how these relationships formed and how she keeps them vibrant, recounting obstacles she overcame along the way.
As she describes the many pitfalls of friendship and how to leap over them, Klam provides advice on what to do if you can't stand a friend's spouse or how to finesse the situation when you get pregnant before a bosom pal who's been trying to conceive for years. She speaks from personal experience and she doesn't care if she looks bad sometimes--traits that instantly make Friendkeeping more authentic and Julie Klam even more endearing. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend