A review by maraharcher804
Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Ann Friedman, Aminatou Sow

challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

3.25

Challenging, difficult, and upsetting. I appreciated the research into the history of friendship culture in the US as well as the specific hurdles that interracial friendships face. However, this book ultimately made me sad. I have a big friendship which I acknowledge I'm incredibly lucky to be a part of and am comfortable with the fact that it will last the rest of my life. But this book unpacks a relationship so rooted in problems that it almost made me second guess how comfortable I am in my big friendship, which I do not think is the book's intention. Essentially, their friendship has/had so much work involved (which is what it takes to stay friends through ups and downs) but so much work and problems that it made me upset to read and not overjoyed at their friendship status. I didn't feel how much they enjoy being friends. I felt heartache instead.