The Best of Friends-LP

by Sara James, Ginger Mauney

Transplanting Southern roots to southern Africa, Ginger Mauney has earned the acceptance of a troop of baboons, unraveled mysteries of life and death in an elephant herd, and raised her young son in the wilds of Etosha National Park. During her career as a television journalist, Sara James paid her own way to cover the war in Nicaragua, exposed slavery in Sudan, plunged to the grave site of the Titanic , but struggled to balance work with marriage and motherhood. Though the two lead seemingly opposite lives, there is much they share. A hometown in Richmond, Virginia, an attraction to life on the razor's edge, and a past. Now, in this heartfelt memoir, Sara and Ginger alternately narrate the story of their twenties, thirties, and forties through the lens of a friendship that has spanned thousands of miles and more than thirty years, and reveal how they dared to reinvent their lives, just as it seemed that everything was falling apart.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Book Club, Africa, Friendship, Namibia

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Book Concierge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Subtitle: Two Women, Two Continents, and One Enduring Friendship

Sara James and Ginger Mauney met when they were in middle school. Shared confidences during a slumber party cemented their friendship. Despite moving far apart (Mauney settled in Namibia; James in New York), they remained close. This is a shared memoir of their friendship.

We learn of their various steps and missteps in becoming independent, strong women. The career they chose. The men they fell for (and got hurt by). And finally, their personal and professional successes. Good for them. I was bored.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure what made me pick this book up, and I'm not sure what made me read past the first few chapters because it took some time to get into, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Now, I wouldn't call it great literature, but it is a good read, very "human" and feeling. This would be the kind of book I would choose as a beach read.

The story is about two women who have been friends since high school and who are now in their 40s. It traces their lives and their friendship as they grow and become the people they are. One of the things that makes the story intersting is that one of them women is a news reporter who travels all over the world, and the other moves to Africa--so there are all kinds of different things going on than you would normally have right here in the US.

The story reminds me how important friends are, how having someone to talk to and rely on, no matter what, is really important.

[Leah Fagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara James and Ginger Mauney became friends when they were in jr. high and it is a friendship that has stood the test of time - thirty plus according to the book. In that time, they encouraged each other through failed relationships, eventual marriages and childbirths and careers that took them to very different parts of the world: Sara as a news anchor in New York and Ginger as a wildlife filmmaker in Namibia.
I enjoyed this on so many levels. First is just the enduring friendship. That's a special friendship to weather that many years and still be close. Second, I enjoyed this for the experiences in Namibia. For me, it wasn't just names of places in some far-off country but places I recognize and can visualize having visited those areas myself because of my family connections. I liked how the chapters are alternately written so their two stories are told and interwoven together to become one larger one.

[Joy Booth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from a digital library thinking it was a different book by the same name. (My book club was reading the other book.). I slogged through half of it - when I got to the pictures in the middle. I realized it was a nonfiction book. While it is clear the two women led unusual lives, I found their narration extremely unself aware. As entertaining as my own friends are, I hardly think a narration of our every conversation and meet-up would hold anyone’s attention. Unfortunately, these authors disagreed with me.

[Mackayla Hearon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, some important life lessons... I enjoyed reading about the journalism and living in Africa... but it definitely dragged on. It took an effort to get through the entire thing, though I am glad I did.

[Diane D'Addario · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a while to finish.

Was it catching? It was in the beginning….it had the hooks that kept me engaged but then I teetered off with some boredom.

I enjoyed the book and the determination of their friendship.

Not a WOW by any means but it was a nice story.

[Elaine Jong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book until the last third when it seemed to drag on as if it had a requirement to fill XXXX amount of pages.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Best of Friends: Two Women, Two Continents, and One Enduring Friendship (Paperback)
by Sara James

[Andrea Elkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's heart-warming that these two ladies' friendship has stood the test of time and distance. I was fully engaged with the narrative until the women reached their 30s. At that point it seemed like the author was skimming a bit. Even though both women had extremely exciting experiences, they read as somewhat dry to me.

[Kate. · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't judge a book by its cover but you can probably tell a lot by its title. Believe me, the title is the worst thing about this book. (That's a compliment.) Who was the editor here... Beverly Cleary? Betsy Byars?

Enough, enough. I got past the sweet lil girly title and am glad I did. Because this is a thoughtful, substantive memoir of the friendship between NBC correspondent Sara James and wildlife documentarian Ginger Mauney that spans three continents and many heartbreaks. Selfishly, I admit, I liked the story best because it was a realistic portrayal of two career women struggling to strike a balance between work life and personal life. In the retelling, they are honest about their occasional ambivalence toward marriage and the dichotomy of life for southern girls transplanted to foreign climes. Tragedy is the great equalizer -- because the excitement of their professional lives is reduced to a sidebar when "real life" happens. Sara covers the Olympics, modern day slave trade in Africa, and September 11 -- but when her second child falls ill at birth, her charmed Upper East Side life is not real different than any other mom's. Ginger has tracked elephants through the bush at dawn and observed a pack of baboons as if she was one of them, but when her son gets malaria she remembers that her choice to live in the bush might shape her life in a new terrible way.

I think when most of us look back on friendships, we collapse them into a few defining memories and an overarching emotion. In contrast, these authors go the distance to recreate the many seasons of their friendship, and to think about how their lives have been shaped by the other. My one wish is that they had been more open about the issues that lurk in the background: their competitiveness, regrets (if any) about having a baby at 43 when the baby turned out to have severe health complications, how their careers suffered when they became mothers, and how a child would be disadvantaged by growing up in Africa rather than the US.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read! I loved how their lives seemed constantly intertwined and it made me long for travel

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The description of the book sounds a little hoaky - one friend in Africa, one in New York City, but I was surprised by the depth and realness of their stories. While this book is a great story of friendship, and how friendships can withstand and grow from time apart 'geographically', it is also a very engaging story of two women and their individual quests for meaning in their lives. I very much enjoyed reading about the challenges they faced in their careers and personal lives, and how they ultimately came to the understanding of what truly is most important in life. Two remarkable women who should be an inspiration to us all to cherish the most important friendships of our lives, and to persevere on your quest for happiness. A great read for a woman questioning her choices and comparing herself to those around her.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a memoir of a friendship told through the eyes of two women -- Sara James, an NBC correspondent, and Ginger Mauney, a wildlife filmmaker originally from Richmond, VA, who now lives in Namibia. The two women tell the story of their friendship by authoring alternating chapters, chronologically following the path of their intersecting lives. It is easy, pleasant reading, and they both are unsparingly honest when writing about their personal flaws and sufferings -- including painful relationship break-ups, rejections at work and crises with children. However, I found Sara's story too annoyingly privileged and (since I am a liberal social activist) invested in the mainstream media view (in which there is very little challenge of the status quo). I found myself wanting to tune Sara out and learn more about the bush in which Ginger lived. It's a good plane read, however!

[Jeanne Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives you a lot to think about. Two girls that met in middle school. Their lives, although spent on different continents, criss- crossed during the years. Both of them had highs and lows in their lives. They were able to 'help each other' during the lows, and celebrate each other during the highs. It shows that even if you 'think' that you know where your life is going, don't be surprised if it goes an entirely different way. And in the end, it ended up just where it was supposed to be. It makes me wish that I had friends like Sara and Ginger! Would love to know how their lives have chaned in the 4 since the book was published. I am sure that were more ups and downs, and that they continue to share their lives and loves. Good luck to you both.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The true story of two girls who became friends at age 12 and stayed connected throughout the years ... through career paths, family crisis, finding love, and raising a family. One woman is a journalist/anchor woman for NBC who travels and covers stories all over the world. The other is a photo journalist who ends up living in Africa documenting baboons and elephants. Descriptions of some of their journeys are very interesting to read through. Lots of instances where you can relate to what one of them is facing...lonliness, lost love, sick child, commitment to work and family. Think we all have one close friend like Ginger and Sara!

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was somewhere b/w a 2 and 3 for me. I picked this up because I always liked Sara James on the Today show and thought it would be a good memoir centered on women's friendships. However, the writing was mediocre - it was almost as if they were writing essays under the heading "what i did in [fill in year]" for each chapter and worse, the references to each other felt forced at many times. I came away without really feeling the deep connection they kept telling me (over and over again) that they have.

[Susanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the format unique and somewhat interesting--but particularly distracting. In a memoir, I want to become immersed in the life of the memoirist. This book follows two lives, each fascinating in their own rights. Unfortunately both are diluted in the alternating chapter format. I understand the intent here, and I applaud the attempt. But I just never got involved enough in either one of their lives to really care all that much. Both authors are effective writers; perhaps they should write their own books.

[Adina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not only about a friendship between two women, but it's also about life, choices we have to make, and experiences we encounter in our life's journey. While you may not have a friendship like theirs, or be a journalist or film maker, you can still relate. You can feel/live their happiness, sadness, and understand the choices they had to make.
I thought it was a great book about friendship but also a little bit of real life events/history. I laughed and cried, and thoroughly enjoyed the book.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found myself looking forward to reading this book everyday. Jane and Grace meet and become friends at 12 years old, then they kind of lose touch for a while. They reconnect in their post-college years as they are looking for success and more to the point, what defines success to them. Each journey takes us all over the world and we become part of some amazing, scary and unforgettable experiences.

This was a great read!!

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarah James and Ginger Mauney have a long history together - friends since grade school! The most interesting parts of the book for me were the sections that shared about Ginger's experiences with wildlife in Africa. The friendship part wasn't so extraordinary, in fact, it struck me as quite ordinary. As I read, I thought about a lot of women that could write book like this one! Nothing about the book really grabbed me.

[Cindyjo8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have friends I have met at different points in my life and love keeping in touch with those very special ones. Sara and Ginger touch base from the time they became friends at 12. I love how this story is told from each of their perspectives. They talk about hardships and joys in their lives, and how they needed each other during these times. They talk about their travels and lives in Africa, Australia and America.

[Aleksandra Rosen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was recommended by "Parenting" magazine as a good book to read for women.
I was amazed how two high school friends are able to develop their friendship through many years into their adulthood. Though heartbreak of finding true love and numerous hurdles of searching for their true career call, separated by thousands of miles, Sara and Ginger are always stay friends despite different occupation, leaving on different continents.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this memoir, written by two women, one a news correspondent for NBC and one a film maker who lived for 7 years in Namibia. It was interesting to hear about their desire to have particular careers, and the work and sacrifices to make that dream come true; dating and getting married; and having children and the balance between maintaining careers they love and being mothers. A very nice read.

[Hannah Jo Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this months ago and was hoping I'd feel kinder to it over time. I guess I just wasn't in the right mood for this type of book -- two different contributors, writing about their friendship and the ups and downs of their lives, their travels, and their ongoing connection to each other. I couldn't connect with either of them, though, so felt detached the entire time. Like I said, though, it was probably me, not them.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting in high school and going through love found and lost, marriages, and child birth- these two women write about having it all. sort of. Careers in news broadcasting and documentary film making take these two friends all over the world and yet they are still bound by the friendship they started so many years ago.
This book is for anyone who has had a best friend since a young age.

[Merrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good book about the lives and friendship of best friends that live half way around the world from each other. it was interesting reading about their lives, since one is a successful news reporter for dateline, and the other an african filmmaker who lives in namibia. i loved reading about the african bush, as it resonates deeply with me :)

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I've read in years. I cried so much -- those good cries that you really need sometimes. It's a great memoir about how two friends can carry each other through all the obstacles of life just by "being there" in spirit, offering kind words and a network of people who genuinely care about each other.

[Diane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't waste your time. This book had potential, but it was lost in the over-the-top emotional padding stuffed into it by amateur writers. Both women have very interesting lives and could offer advise to young women. They should have focused on their accomplishments instead of constantly saying, "Wow, look at what amazingly good friends we are!" Half of the time it read like a bad soap opera.

[Misse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an insightful book about friends who took very separate paths in life and yet remained connnected. I was always curious about what happened to Sara James, as I really liked her as a TODAY reporter. Without giving away what I now know after reading this book, my curiosity is now satisfied. It reads a bit slow at times but I wanted to get to the end so I kept at it.