Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America

by Andrew McCarthy

A moving and provocative exploration of male friendship and loneliness by New York Times bestselling author, filmmaker, and actor Andrew McCarthy as he crisscrosses country in an effort to reconnect with friends from the past.

“You don’t really have any friends, do you, Dad?”

A seemingly innocuous, if direct, question from Andrew McCarthy’s son left him reeling. McCarthy did have friends, but like so many other men, the necessities of modern adult life had forced his friendships to the background. At one point his friends had been instrumental in broadening his horizons, bolstering his courage, providing safe harbor. Now, McCarthy found himself questioning what had happened to his friendships, whether he needed them, what he valued, and what he had to offer. A simple question had become a moment that demanded a reckoning.

Who Needs Friends charts McCarthy’s journey for nearly ten thousand miles, following him on often-unexpected travels through Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, the Chihuahuan Desert, and the Rocky Mountains with one driving to see his friends. Along the way, he talks to countless men about their male friendships, from cowboys and blues musicians to preachers and rootless teens. What began as a simple desire to catch up with a few friends turned into a deep exploration of the challenges and rewards that men experience in forming bonds with each other. In McCarthy’s own words, “It turns out that guys have a difficult time with friendship.” But the good news is, that’s not the way it needs to be.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel, Audiobook, Friendship, Biography, Biography Memoir

320 pages, Hardcover

Published March 24, 2026

About the author

Andrew McCarthy is a director, an award winning travel writer, and—of course—an actor. He made his professional début at 19 in Class, and has appeared in dozens of films, including such iconic movies as Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo’s Fire, Less Then Zero, and cult favorites Weekend At Bernie’s and Mannequin.

He has starred on Broadway and on television, most recently appearing in The Family, on ABC. McCarthy is also a highly regarded television director; having helmed Orange is the New Black, The Blacklist, Grace and Frankie, and many others.

Simultaneously, McCarthy is an award winning travel writer. He is an editor-at-large at National Geographic Traveler, and has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Travel+Leisure, AFAR, Men’s Journal, Bon Appetit, and many others. He has received six Lowell Thomas awards, and been named Travel Journalist of the Year by The Society of American Travel Writers.

His travel memoir, THE LONGEST WAY HOME, became a New York Times Best Seller, and the Financial Times of London named it one of the Best Books of the year. He served as guest editor for the prestigious Best American Travel series in 2015.

His debut novel, JUST FLY AWAY, will be published by Algonquin in the spring of 2017.

McCarthy lives in New York City.

Reviews

[CatReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew McCarthy is an American actor and travel writer; I previously read but didn't much care for his 2023 book Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain about his trek across the Camino de Santiago with his overgrown 19-year-old toddler (see my review here). Thankfully, Sam only makes minor cameo appearances in this book, which follows the elder McCarthy's American cross country travels in reconnecting with some of his long-time male friends and talking with other men along the way about the role (or lack) of male friends in their lives, with the backdrop of a travelogue across the Southern and Western US hitting such cliched travel spots as Marpha, Texas, and Moab, Utah. As the subtitle promises, this book is definitely unscientific, mostly focusing on anecdotal cases from McCarthy's life -- while told interestingly and not veering into parody (though I find some parodies on this topic funny in an ironic way), this definitely isn't the same as picking up a more in-depth social psychology book on the same topic, like Matthew Lieberman's Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect or William Von Hippel's The Social Paradox: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness – An Evolutionary Psychology Guide to Overcoming Loneliness.

My statistics:
Book 76 for 2026
Book 2382 cumulatively

[David Jonescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title immediately got me hooked. I have found myself having conversations with people about friendships especially as adults. This book is part travelogue part look into different group of friends and the authors friendships himself. Overall an interesting and fun read!

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[susieqlaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew McCarthy’s latest book takes us around the USA as he visits friends. He explores male friendships. I enjoyed the narration by the author. It was interesting to follow the stories and places. He traveled to many places I’ve either been to or heard of.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy. I also purchased the audio copy.

[Tara Cignarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America
Andrew McCarthy

Book #65
4 Stars (4.6 Amazon 4.29 Goodreads)
Release Date 3/24/26
80,000 Words
Memoir
Audio
#whiskersandwordsbookreview #onesentencereview #malefriendships #friends



------ I enjoyed these stories and the insight, but I lost interest from time to time.

[Morgan Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reading this book I experienced a vicarious literary road trip with Andrew McCarthy as he sought out old friends, fond memories, new acquaintances, and reflections on what it means to be a man in this country.
Everywhere in the US that he ventures to McCarthy encounters the same double standard for men: the need of men to connect with male peers for friendship conflicting with the underlying need to remain invulnerable while doing it.
Time goes by, people change, life gets in the way, people lose touch with one another, but the need to connect and stay connected is always there and loneliness is never far away for men.
Thank you Andrew McCarthy for sharing your experience by writing this book. I enjoyed reading it.

[Eleanor Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a beautiful exploration of friendship.

[Denise Rago · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, his books are well written. Full of insight and humor.

[Clare Mulroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! A thoughtful, engaging take on male loneliness that (refreshingly) focuses on solutions and conversation starting rather than blame. I really felt like I was alongside him during this journey getting to know new parts of the country.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was sold on the title, and then intrigued by the author, whose writing I have not encountered before! And, since it's read by the author, it's almost automatically a good time.

I will say that even though the subtitle is right there -- "An unscientific examination" -- I found myself yearning for a more scientific examination, which is obviously a me thing. Something that's an author thing is that it was a little frustrating for him to constantly be generalizing his ability or lack thereof to maintain friendships as an inherently male thing, because bro, me too, and so many women I know. (On the plus side, this will serve as a reminder to be better about generalizing in my own communication!)

Overall, it's a really good anecdotal look at friendship in the setting of a fun cross-country road trip and I definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the concept of friendship across all genders.

[Philip Reari · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author took a fun road trip to visit some friends. He gets introspective about friendship and also writes about the sights he sees. I didn't find it particularly enlightening or novel.

[Jeremy Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the topic. Definitely not something widely discussed but relevant. Texted a few friends after…

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It does what is says on the cover: an unscientific research in to male friendships. It was nice to read about various mens’ experiences with regard to their adult relationships with other men, but the book itself was fairly unstructured (random) in its approach relating this information.

The first half of the book leaned into the male relationship aspect, the second half was mostly about the random drive through the USA. The travel bits weren’t my really my thing, I don't have much interest in reading about someone else's roadtrip across the USA.

So in the end, I'm not sure if this was a USA roadtrip book about men, or a men’s book that took place while solo roadtripping. It seemed to want to do both and wasn’t really 100% on either.

[LeAnn Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly about his memories and friends. His journey across the us. It’s an easy read. Just ok

[William Dupre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Give your boys a call!

[Mediaman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely dull, meandering travel book that was written under the guise of being about "friendship," when in truth it's just a boring retelling of McCarthy's drives through small town America. There is little of substance here, no matter how hard he tries to make it about friendship, because the guy is alone much of the time and includes meeting strangers to exchange hellos as being part of his friends networking!

In order to make it sound legit, the celebrity inserts about one paragraph per chapter of academic research regarding friendship. You could do better doing an online search yourself. It sounds like he randomly used the internet to come up with random data instead of building this into a compelling argument. To subtitle this "unscientific" is totally correct but it detracts from any minimal points he tries to make.

While McCarthy claims this is all real, it's very hard to believe in spots. He drives to an old friend's place in Kentucky and along the way his wife calls out of nowhere to say she's taking the kids that night on a plane to Ireland? Seriously? Who just hops on a plane to leave the country immediately when her husband is supposed to come back in the next couple of days? He then wanders on to other states with no plan and suddenly decides to go cross country to California? He's not a preppie/hippie from the 1980s anymore, it makes no sense. In Arizona he just happens upon a weird spiritual guy trained in the Mankind Project who is leading a local men's group that ponders friendship issues. Amazing coincidence, right?

The way he tells every rambling story makes everything sound super laid back and coincidental, but many also feel stitched together to try to drive a narrative that the author knows has little to it. There is a lot of stereotyping, especially about gender and friendship. There should be many woke gender-fluid people upset that he clearly states major differences between "men" and "women," with guys always being on the losing end of any comment.

McCarthy does encounter one "New Age" gay guy in Arizona who disputes Andrew's generalizations about the differences between men and women by saying, "What we come up with as far as gender roles is entirely a cultural construct that has nothing inherent about it." All the author adds is, "While not certain I agree with all that, I express my gratitude" to the guy for discussing it! You're left to feel like this was a perfect opportunity to dive into the gender aspects of the writer's generalizations, but he fails to do anything with it, as is true of most of his encounters.

You may need to fact check this as well--at one point he spends the night at the Texas hotel where the stars of the movie Giant stayed but writes that the movie was "James Dean's third and final film before his premature death." Well James Dean actually appeared in eight movies, five uncredited and three credited. Why is McCarthy perpetuating the myth that Dean only was in three?

And it's extremely ironic that he stays in a BnB that was used in the film "Steel Magnolias," but he hates the place. Instead of writing about the dissonance, he just complains.

I came away feeling like I'd been on the trip with him, and that's not good--I was bored and not trusting this driver, who seems uncertain of just about every decision. He gives a few glimpses of his past memories throughout, but the book is weighed down by too much nothing about tiny places with few people.

I don't even think he made a compelling point about the book's supposed subject, claiming that "I feel surrounded by friendship" when scrolling through all the texts he receives from friends he met along the way. Andrew, if you're using texts as proof of your "feeling" like you have friends, this trip didn't teach you anything. That's part of the problem today--people think online communication is from "friends" they never meet to give them the false feeling of intimacy. His actual face-to-face contacts were a mixture of tedious and creepy (his "best friend" who has an apartment filled with hundreds of Amazon boxes is really weird--then McCarthy breaks in at one point to make sure the sleeping guy is okay).

Who needs friends? A better question is who needs this book? It felt like a wasted trip.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part Memoir. Part Travelogue. All Too Real. This is one of those books where even as McCarthy himself is traveling across the country to meet up with friends from much earlier in his life who he has lost contact with, I find myself reading it as a 43yo man and thinking of my own similar friendships. Specifically Mike, the guy I once worked with in the computer lab at Kennesaw State University where we bonded over playing Halo in the back room between the labs when neither of us had any students to work with, and Sean, the SQL guru who was once essential both in getting me hired at one job and in being a close partner and friend at that job, neither of whom I've seen in 10 or even 20 yrs now.

Thus, as McCarthy talks about how much these guys meant to him and how much he misses them... yeah, that absolutely *hits*... and I suspect it will with most guys, because most of us (particularly these days) *all* have these types of friendships. Even my own dad, who lived literally just three houses away from his own best friend for roughly 30 yrs, now lives in the next County up.

The fact that McCarthy uses connecting with his friends as a reason to start off on what becomes a road trip across America from coast to coast talking to the various men he encounters along the way about their own friendships works quite well here, and we get a wide variety of responses and perspectives along the way. Including, even, a female to male transexual teenage child. (That last bit is only a very small part of the overall narrative, but *is* present - so do with that as you will. As part of the overall tale and discussion here, it does in fact add a different perspective and wrinkle, and I pass no judgement here either direction on that perspective.)

The travel part of this almost reads like a version of so many similar projects over the years, including the former Motor Home Diaries where Adam Mueller, Peter Eyre, and Jason Talley once travelled the country searching for liberty in America during Obama's first year as President - and even more than a few hints of one Jack None Reacher, created by British author Lee Child. Indeed, one passage in particular in Uvalde - yes, that Uvalde, and yes, the school in question is *exactly* where McCarthy was at this point in the narrative - really brings forth shades of the MHD crew, while other passages - specifically in Mississippi - bring forth a more explicitly Reacher vibe as McCarthy seeks out esoteric Jazz legends.

Because this book is primarily memoir and almost entirely direct personal experience, the normal requirements for a nonfiction book to have a 15% or more bibliography don't really apply here, though even in the Advance Review Copy edition of the book I read, there was in fact at least some recommended reading provided at the end that seemed to include many of the various studies and other works McCarthy had mentioned over the course of his narrative.

Overall this really was a quite fun and even poignant tale that does exactly what its subtitle proclaims - provides "an unscientific examination of male friendship across America", and in its breadth and quality of writing in particular, it really does excel. Who knew, maybe this "washed up actor" might just be a decent enough writer? ;) (That last bit was a joke, to be clear. McCarthy really is one of the better travel writers I've read in quite a while.)

Very much recommended.

[Saeed · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s an epidemic of male loneliness, but very few people are talking about it.

So when Andrew McCarthy is asked by his son, “You don’t really have any friends, do you, Dad?” — it lands.

That question sends him across the country to reconnect with old friends and talk to men about theirs.

That’s the engine of “Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship in America.”

The book, written as a travelogue, is really an attempt to answer a harder question: why aren’t men better friends?

McCarthy keeps circling the same idea: the desire not to appear weak.

Men don’t want to be vulnerable. They don’t want to need. And so they don’t show up for each other the way they could.

They also give each other a pass. Where women push, question, hold each other accountable, men tend to accept distance. Or even default to it.

There’s a line from Friedrich Nietzsche the book quotes: “Love is blind. Friendship closes its eyes.”

That’s male friendship in a nutshell.

But it wasn’t always like this. In the days of Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln, men formed emotionally intimate bonds. That started to change around World War II, when the model shifted to the stoic, self-contained man.

And now, here we are. A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that 22% of men often or always feel lonely.

The book works best when McCarthy gets out of the way and lets other men talk.

He meets lifelong best friends. He meets men who have none. He sits in bars and asks simple questions and gets surprisingly honest answers.

The writing is vivid without trying too hard. And on audio, McCarthy’s background as an actor helps. His narration makes the people he meets come alive.

The book also has these moments that stay with you. A friend once got upset that William Faulkner — a renowned curmudgeon — didn’t acknowledge him when they passed each other. His response: what more is there to say? We just spent the entire morning fishing.

It’s funny. It’s also exactly how a lot of men operate: side by side, often at a bar watching a game. Not face to face.

There’s another idea the book keeps returning to: friendship doesn’t complete you. It enhances you.

But that doesn’t just happen. It takes time — roughly 200 hours, according to the research cited in the book, to form a real friendship. And it takes something from you. If you want good friends, you have to be someone capable of being one.

“Who Needs Friends” will resonate with anyone who laments that their friend circle has shrunk. And perhaps the book will do for them what it did for me.

It made me reach out. It made me have conversations I wouldn’t normally have — about what friendship actually means, what we expect from it, and what we give to it.

More than anything, it made me realize that we all think we’re good friends. But most of us aren’t pulling our weight.

It’s a pity, because it’s not hard.

You don’t need a road trip to reconnect. You can start by firing off a text.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew McCarthy’s new book, Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination Of Male Friendship Across America, is a travelogue of the author’s cross-country road trip to visit five close male friends with whom he has basically lost touch. He not only analyzes his relationships with these men – how they started, why they lapsed, and how they reignited thanks to these impulsive visits - but also talks to various men across America whom he encounters on the road, asking them about their own success (or lack thereof) with meaningful friendships. Opening the book talking about the epidemic of loneliness that plagues modern men (and its very real and negative impact on longevity), McCarthy explores how different generations deal with it (younger men are more open to admitting their loneliness) and the common traits that help men connect in order to combat it. Some men cite loyalty, trust and a lack of judgment as key to their meaningful male friendships, while others have simply given up on making an effort to find them. My takeaway from Who Needs Friends about the state of male friendship is a mixed bag – part hopeful, part really depressing – as it seems that many men are simply destined to give in to inertia, insecurity or long-held images of masculinity, rather than examine what might be missing from their lives and how to fix it. I really enjoyed McCarthy’s exploration of his own friendships and his role in their ebb and flow, as well as his beautiful travel writing. I felt like I was on that epic road trip with him, experiencing the grand vastness and variety of the American landscape. I highly recommend this one!

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up. I’m not sure this would’ve been published if an ordinary bloke wrote it, but because it was AM, there you have it.

The book is sparked by a blunt question from McCarthy’s son: "You don't really have any friends, do you, Dad?" This realization—that he had allowed his close bonds to fade into the background of adult life—prompts him to embark on a 10,000-mile solo road trip across the United States.  So he seeks to reconnect with his friends, and he investigates and observes male friends en route including interesting observations about what it means to be a man. He explores the epidemic of loneliness, and inertia versus maintenance wrt friendship and generational differences, i.e. young men much more willing to admit they are lonely. AM talks about the importance of connection. He examines his role in why his friendships lapsed.

-the Faulkner story: we just spent the entire morning talking and fishing. What on earth do we have to say to each other?

-Epicurus: it is not so much our friends’ help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us

— while nothing can replace those early connections [foundational relationships], friends made later in life have rich value if for no other reason than that it can be so much more difficult to make friends as we get older. They require a conscious and active (and vulnerable making) commitment in the way those early friendships did not, when friendships seemed to “just happen.”

[Elena Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who Needs Friends is a reflective and quietly powerful exploration of male friendship, anchored in both personal experience and broader cultural observation. What makes the book stand out is its willingness to examine a subject that is often overlooked or minimized. It approaches the question of connection not as a given, but as something that requires intention, effort, and vulnerability.

The journey across the country adds a dynamic layer to the narrative. By engaging with men from different backgrounds and walks of life, the book expands beyond individual experience into something more collective. These encounters create a mosaic of perspectives, revealing both the common struggles and the varied expressions of male friendship in contemporary life.

What lingers most is the emotional honesty at the core of the book. The initial question from McCarthy’s son becomes a catalyst for a deeper reckoning, one that unfolds with reflection rather than resolution. The narrative does not offer simple answers, but instead opens up space for readers to consider their own relationships and the ways in which connection can be strengthened or lost. The result is a work that feels both intimate and widely resonant, especially in a time where loneliness is increasingly recognized but not always addressed.

[El En · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew I would buy this book as soon as it came out, and that I would read it, and then press the men in my life to read it. I got to meet the author at a book-signing event in Plainville, MA when he was promoting "Walking With Sam" a couple of years ago. And of course I saw his movies during my formative years.

I have high hopes for this book. I hope it sparks an endless chain of conversations on the topic of male friendship. I hope it inspires men to reconnect with their friends and make more.

What Cody the cowboy said: "What is being a man? It's changed." That McCarthy zeroed in on this topic for a book. The loneliness epidemic. Our current conflict with Iran and how we got into it. It's all connected, and it's important that we look at it from all angles. Our men need the support and space to grapple with it.

I'm telling people that this book is part American road trip and part analyzing male friendship. There were times while reading it when I thought: turning a rambling road trip into a book is a clever way to get expenses paid, a tax write-off. Did the road trip happen first, or the book idea? Does it matter? Why did it bother me, either way?

So I think if you go into reading it knowing about the road trip angle, you will be more ready for it. I found it to be a good mix of personal stories, statistics and travel writing.

[Rick Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Who Needs Friends" by Andrew McCarthy is a heartfelt exploration of the complexities surrounding male friendships in America. The book masterfully blends humor and depth, offering moments that can both make you laugh and tug at your heartstrings within the same chapter. McCarthy’s insights feel genuine and relatable, especially as he addresses the cultural obstacles men face when it comes to forming and maintaining close bonds.
One of the book’s strongest points is its candid discussion about emotional openness. While women often find it easier to connect and share their feelings, men are frequently conditioned to suppress their emotions, leading to a sense of loneliness and isolation. McCarthy argues that vulnerability is not a weakness but a necessary step toward authentic friendship. His message is clear: we need to redefine our perceptions of masculinity and embrace the importance of emotional connection and camaraderie.
Overall, "Who Needs Friends" is both entertaining and meaningful. It encourages readers to rethink their approach to friendship, reminding us that showing emotion and seeking connection is vital to well-being. The book is a valuable read for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of male friendship and the importance of breaking down emotional barriers.

[Cool · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for an unbiased review.

I've read all of McCarthy's nonfiction books and each time, I've walked away impressed by his introspection, narration, and growth as a person and a writer. His previous book "Walking With Sam" was one of my favorite reads of 2024. (Though full disclosure: I was walking the Camino when I read it, and I'm a GenX lady who swooned over McCarthy in "Pretty in Pink". )

While I preferred "Walking With Sam", "Who Needs Friends" was an engaging read, and as a woman in a long-term relationship with a man of McCarthy's and my generation, it was also a bit sad, but enlightening. We women know that we nuture friendships in a way most men don't; it was fascinating to follow along as McCarthy tried to find out why, and what can change. It makes me want to chat with him over a cup of coffee- rarely does an author invite you into his/her mind in such an intimate manner.

The book is positioned as a growth/midlife memoir, but it's also a travelogue of his long drive around the US as he learns about male friendship. The book definitely dragged during a too-long section wandering through the rural South, but overall, I highly recommend McCarthy's new journey.

[Penelope Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I like Andrew McCarthy a lot as an actor. I did actually watch his documentary, Brats, which felt fair but a bit self-indulgent.

In this book, I truly appreciated the honest glimpse into male friendships, including the natural course of fading away that so many of these take, particularly for men. I think the topic here is very important, and I’m glad to have an example of a man unafraid to share his love for other men and his vulnerabilities. The world needs more people to willingly expose their hearts. Possibly – probably – especially men. And you know what? I liked following him along on his road trip around the United States. I thought this book was thoughtful, reflective, and interesting. I would certainly recommend this as a read, especially for the men in my life but there are lessons here from which we could all benefit.

[Sara Shapiro-Plevan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often wonder what makes for deep, reciprocal relationships—and what causes us to retreat into ourselves as we age. This book offers no answer, but describes one man’s gentle search to uncover his own friendships and reveal what made them so formative. I his effort to recover what made them precious and renew them, he also seeks out others’ examples and listens to the stories of total strangers — none of which are individually earth shattering, but in the aggregate tell the story of how people isolated seek out companionship deliberately and weave community even and especially when it is hard. This is not a recipe book for your life—it won’t give you the answer you need to fix you. It will, though, convince you to try, if you need convincing, to reconnect with the people and relationships in your life that are most beloved.

[Tasha Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an insightful read. Andrew McCarthy deconstructs male friendship in America while on a quest to rekindle his own, and somehow makes you reflect on every friendship you’ve ever had along the way. Warm, heartfelt and thought-provoking.

While I wasn’t the target audience, this book still resonated deeply. It’s an eye-opening look at how men navigate friendship differently, and can be just as helpful for understanding connection across genders. Genuinely made me think.

I had the added bonus of meeting Andrew McCarthy in person at An Unlikely Story bookstore before reading this. I can confirm he is exactly as warm and genuine in real life as he is on these pages!

BRB, adding this to my husband’s TBR immediately. 📚

[C.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed McCarthy's travel writing, but this book hit different.

As someone who loves roadtrips and deeply values the few friendships I have as a man, I kept thinking about all the people I need to reconnect with and see in person in the coming months. It is too easy in today's social media world to feel connected, but not connect.

McCarthy takes an honest look at what it means to be a man with friends today. The cast of characters he shares moments with as he travels the back roads of America continually made me smile and left me reflecting long after I finished the last words.

I'm going to be buying copies for each of my close friends as a gentle "we really need to see each other" nudge.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard Andrew McCarthy (yes, the Brat Pack guy) being interviewed about his latest book by Tom Power on Q on CBC radio and my interest was piqued.

Part self-reflective biography, part travel book/road trip reflection, he explores the issues of male friendships and loneliness as he crisscrosses the United States during a self-guided road trip on a quest to reconnect with several friends who he has drifted away from over the years. He discusses the same issue with men he encounters along the way.

While I found it surprisingly unbelievable that strangers would be so candid and forthcoming with a stranger about personal issues such as this, his findings and account of what he experienced and discovered was really interesting. Lots of it hit home and rang true. Worth checking out.

[Louise Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author, actor, and director Andrew McCarthy writes a travel memoir titled Who Needs Friends. In this book, McCarthy explores male friendship as he takes an unplanned road trip across the United States. During this trip, he discovers himself, his friends, and meets many people who give him perspective on the importance of connection. I really enjoyed this book. Think, On the Road without the pretension! I found the themes of connection, loneliness, and relationships to be universal and not just linked to how men may or may not communicate or participate as friends. I listed to the audiobook which is narrated by the author. I have read other travel-related books by McCarthy and find him to be a writer who excels at focusing on both internal and external connection.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, Grand Central Publishing, for providing the copy of Who Needs Friends by Andrew McCarthy. This book was exactly what the description promised, a travelog of McCarthy’s journey to rediscover his past friends. I loved the random strangers he struck up conversations with, and how open they were about their relationships. There are no earthshaking revelations here, but I appreciated how he talked to diverse men. I’m not sure the lack of many deep friendships is something only men experience, but it’s a subject personal to McCarthy so I applaud his look into it. I loved how his story ended! 3 stars.