The Girls From Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship

by: Jeffrey Zaslow

Published by: Gotham

Reviewed by Claire Vath

The Australian poet John Leonard once wrote, “It takes a long time to grow an old friend.” For the girls from Ames, Iowa, he was preaching to the choir. It’s exceedingly rare for friendships to last among elementary school classmates; rarer still for those friendships to expand and blossom through adolescence, past college and into middle age.

But that’s exactly what the girls from Ames, Iowa, have done—all ten of them. And author, Jeffrey Zaslow documented the girls’—now women’s—histories in his new book, appropriately titled, The Girls From Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship. Zaslow, who co-authored Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture, was invited into the lives of these ten women and gladly delved into their histories and psyches to understand the glue that binds them.

The interesting tidbits about the women are that they’re largely uninteresting and ordinary. The trials they endure apart and together are part of the human experience, yet the bonds of their 40-year friendship is completely surreal.

Some have strayed far from their Iowan roots. Some are career women, others stay-at-home moms. Many are married; others are single or divorced. Certain girls are closer than others. Some have children while others don’t. They’ve survived the illness and loss of parents and siblings.

One of the common bonds from Iowa was good friend, Sheila who died after a mysterious fall of a building balcony when in her early 20s. Her death shook the group to the core and brought them closer together.

Another tragedy that befell the group was the death of Karla’s daughter, Kristi, who battled cancer. Kristi, the first child born to any of the Ames girls, was the apple of their eyes, and her passing sent shockwaves through the women.

Zaslow’s book documents the history of each girl from early childhood into their 40s. Included is a chapter on Sheila’s upbringing as well.

The biography is also peppered with statistics on the importance and value strong friendship plays psychologically.

The book is a well-written, must-read celebration of the 40-year friendship—no small feat—of the girls from small-town Midwest America. Here’s to 40 more years.

Armchair Interviews agrees.

Author’s Web site: http://www.GirlsFromAmes.com