P.S. What I Didn't Say book cover

P.S. What I Didn't Say

P.S. What I Didn't Say: Unsent Letters to Our Female Friends is the title of a book I was recently sent.

And wow, did I start to wonder about all the things I didn't or haven't said to my girlfriends along the way. Hmm, then I shut that dusty book in my mind and opened this one. :)

Inside the book looks very compelling (I haven't gotten to read it yet).

With essay titles like Bevin Wallace's "An Ode to My Partner in Crime," Alice Lesch Kelly's "Who Needs Pink Ribbons with a Friend Like You?", Denise Schipini's "What I Wish I'd Told You the Last Time I Saw You," Kristina Wright's "The Last Letter," Joshunda Sanders' "Better than BFFs, and Susan Johnston's "Watching You Waste Away," this book's definitely got a good mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly of female friendships,

Plus, look at some of the the mom-focused letters:

  • Robin Troy finds that after she became a mom, for the first time in her life she actually realized she enjoyed the company of groups of women (where they talk about breasts and poop with zeal) in "Two Generations of Non-Girly Girls" (page 9)
  • Katie Arnold gives a shout out to all of her adventure-minded friends in "The Mother of all Adventures" (page 35) and appreciates how they've adapted to her being a mom and coming along for the ride even though she has a "tiny, squalling squirrel" affixed to her chest these days.
  • Diana Abu-Jaber talks about how sometimes, even the best laid plans never come to fruition--in her case, her friend's desire to have a baby, and her own indecisiveness about it, in "What Comes True" (page 63)
  • Maggie Lamond-Simone gives a funny send-off to her fellow preschool moms, lamenting the end of the school year (and, she realizes, the end of their friendships) in "The End of the September-May Romance" (page 71)
  • N. Ahern tells her friend who snubbed her for a networking club exactly how she made her feel when she was pregnant with her fifth child (Jersey cow came to mind) in "At-Home Mothers Need Not Apply" (page 95)
  • Shannon Hyland-Tassava tells her friend who makes not-so-subtle comments on parenting exactly how she feels in "The Mommy Wars Killed Our Friendship" (page 173)
  • V. Calder uses her neighbor's cruel attitude as valuable lessons on life for her children in "Life Lessons" (page 209)

I'll definitely be packing this anthology for my beach trip next month — and may even be sending it to a few girlfriends for Valentine's Day.

What about you? What didn't you say — and wish you could or did say — to the female friends in your life?


Related posts:

Friendships Bloom on CafeMom: Four CafeMoms Meet in Real Life

Can Differing Parenting Styles End a Friendship?

Tips For Mending a Friendship

Do Babies Ruin Friendships?