You Be Me: Friendship in the Lives of Teen Girls

by Susan Musgrave (Editor), Anne Fleming, Aislinn Hunter

Girls in their teens form friendships that are astonishingly intense, yet these relationships are often broken and reformed, filled with confidences and betrayals, loyalty and fickleness. In these deeply honest essays, seven women present humorous, poignant, and revealing accounts of their own adolescent friendships. Readers may feel less fearful after learning how liberating it was for one writer to move away from a clique with whom she had little in common. Or perhaps they will come to terms with the idea that beauty sometimes comes with a price. Some will identify with the rebel in all of us as captured in a couple of the essays, or the odd experience of being thrown together with a stranger. Readers will be introduced to the ultimate parting in a the death of a loved friend. Many will understand the despair and confusion when a friend inexplicably moves on and the relief that follows when a new one steps in to take her place. This anthology is a powerful profile of teen girls and of the complex and rewarding nature of friendship.

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Susan Musgrave is a Canadian poet and children's writer. She was born in Santa Cruz, California to Canadian parents, and currently lives in British Columbia, dividing her time between Sidney and Haida Gwaii.

Musgrave was married to Stephen Reid, a writer, convicted bank robber and former member of the infamous band of thieves known as the Stopwatch Gang. Their relationship was chronicled in 1999 in the CBC series Life and Times.

She currently teaches creative writing in the University of British Columbia's Optional Residency Master of Fine Arts Program.

Recognizing a life in writing, the Writers' Trust presented Susan Musgrave with the 2014 Matt Cohen Award for her lifetime of work.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant writing by all contributing authors. True, non-fiction accounts.