This book is not for everyone - very sad and very emotional.

4.5 stars (too sad to be 5 stars). I read this book so long ago and always remembered it. I especially remembered a bit of dialogue from a character talking about impending death and comparing it to how it felt when we were kids and we got called in first to eat dinner. We we were sad because it was still sort of light out and our friends were still out. But once in, we were kind of glad to be there.

I tried to remember the name of this book and the author for years, to no avail. Then late last night, I saw something on social media about a new book by Elizabeth Berg and I looked for it online at the library. The new book wasn’t there, but this one was. Right away, I thought - that is it, the book I have wracked my brain to remember all these years!

Sad fictionalized story of a friend of the author who died young of breast cancer surrounded by and supported by her friends. All about female friendships and struggling with mortality. Tear jerker, but lovely. Gave you so much to think about in terms of friendship and life. I read it in one day and was shocked by how much I remembered from my first reading. I think I will re-read a bunch of her books now (and hopefully get the new one too).

This book broke my heart.

Cancer sucks.

Ruth is vibrant, adventuresome, artistic, attractive, and some would describe as larger-than-life itself. At age 43 she is also dying of cancer.

Although she has many friends, Ann is her soulmate. Her loyalty is unshakable. She stands by her as she loses so much of her physical self to the disease. She even bears witness to her friend's affairs and her divorce from her husband Eric, a self-absorbed lawyer who goes on to marry another woman.

This novel probes the rewards and challenges of friendship in a death watch setting which is heightened by emotions and shifting moods.

Ruth's character has an appetite for life which under the circumstances makes one grateful to be alive in this moment.

Ann is a reflective and intense person who matches Ruth's energy.

It is wonderful to see a story about friendship that accentuates the love and intimacy that can exist between women caring and supporting one another through anything.

And yes, I was spoiled again...this was a donation to my Little Free Library Shed. Now it is a review for you.

3.5 stars. This is the second Elizabeth Berg book I have read, and I have decided that I am going to like anything she writes. Even if not much happens (like in this book - which is why it's rated lower for me), I still like how she presents the characters' thoughts. It's like she says things I was already thinking without knowing I had been thinking them.

This book was all about the loss of a best friend, and it was as emotional as you would expect. It was even more so when I discovered a scrap of paper a past reader had slipped between the pages. It said: To my dear friend, Linda, who died at 38 from leukaemia. "I will never forget to remember you." I of course left the paper there, and I hope future readers do the same. There isn't a more appropriate book for a note like that.

The strength of female friendship. This book made me laugh and it made me cry but more importantly it made me so thankful for the friendships in my life.

Very well written, but if you've ever lost a loved one to cancer, it may be a difficult read. First published in 1994, the battle against breast cancer has a come a long way, and we ALSO have Death with Dignity in many states. So it's no longer the case where, if you are terminally ill with cancer, you have no choice but to go to the bitter end.

Ruth was a charming character - I'd like to think I'd mostly go out with a bang, as she did. Ann is torn between her family, and her best friend. L.D. and Sarah are memorable secondary characters - I cannot for the life of me remember anything memorable about Helen. I did like it, but it hit me deeply in the feels.

This one will tug at your heart strings.