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This memoir covers a three-year, high-school friendship of two young women through their shared ups and downs, before one is killed suddenly by a drunk driver on the cusp of her seventeenth birthday. The brief prose and poetry speak of the deep affection and trauma, as seen through the eyes of the friend left behind.

Sample Poems

Frannie

Delicate and petite with that radiant
Portuguese smile. Her eyes – deep
chocolate and oh, so round.

How could one not fall into
friendship? A friendship so abiding
through hours, days, and years –
though brief these were, after all.

Teenagers can be fickle with friends.
Today, who is popular? Who has the lead
in the play? Who is the star athlete this week?
Others follow that one adoringly. Even
slavishly. I know this to be true: experience is
the honest teacher.

Not us. We had each other and that was
enough. Enough laughter. Enough sharing
hot chocolate on cold winter’s night, talking of
of trite things, wearing mohair sweaters
with hip-hugging jeans. Enough tears, too.
Teenage tears over first loves lost or bad
haircuts.

Then, enough was no longer an option. All was
a void. Death is not fickle. At best, it does not
discriminate.

Did I tell you this? Tell you that she loved daisies?

~~

Interlude II

Living with ghosts, one develops a macabre
sense of humor. A strange but grateful
appreciation of death.

There they are, night and day, invisible yet
present. Photographs adorn bookcases, or a
yellow and faded polaroid lies almost forgotten
inside a treasured box, along with letters and
cards. Handwritten with care. Always time to
care.

So many of one’s choices are decided
after attention is paid to ghostly wise advice on
life – of all things. Choices directed by the slant
of this ‘t” or the loop in that “e” dissected for
meaning’s nuance.

Spectral blessings move along in a gentle breeze
on this autumn’s eve when the harvest
sun reflects off the ochre and crimson
leaves. In stillness, their wisdom brushes
against one’s cheek with affection that only
the dead can hold for the living.

We live with memories – little gifts if attention is paid.

Reviews

This book was such a beautiful tribute to a lost friend. I found myself relating to so many of the chapters and how the author relays her memories and emotions. I loved the way that it was structured. The style of writing particularly caught my attention. The way that the chapters switch from the good times then are broken up by the interludes. It felt like a nice symbolic touch that the first chapter was titled “Frannie,” and the last was “Frannie Redux.” Like the reader progressively learns more about her as the story goes. This memoir was truly a work of art.
— Karynn, for LibraryThing Early Reviewers

This book is a beautiful recollection of memories that allows readers to experience the emotions of friendship, and in turn, losing a friend. The author keeps their friend alive through the retelling of these stories.
— sltintori, for LibraryThing Early Reviewers

This book is so beautifully written and takes you back to a time in your life when friendship and your feelings are so intense. That time being your senior year in high school. The writer takes you along on her journey with her best friend and you won’t be disappointed in the telling of this story. I found myself thinking about old friendships and how they sent us on life’s journey. I was lucky to be part of the high school and class depicted in this book. That being said, you didn’t need to be there to experience where the writer takes you.
— Patricia Zechman

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