Sarah Zacharias Davis

Well... I wrote a nice, long review of this and then pressed the wrong button on the keyboard and lost it. Grrrrr... so, I'll try to remember what I had to say.

The question asked in this book is why are women's friendships so tricky?, and deals with questions of female friendship: why we want women friends, why some relationships go sour, how to make friends a priority, and what to do when it's time to let a friendship go.

Written from a Christian woman's perspective, I'd recommend this book to any woman who's had a friendship go bad (haven't we all, at some point?), to someone who's wondering how to release a friend, or to anyone who wants to make friends more of a priority in their life.… (more)

The author, Sarah Zacharias Davis, writes charmingly about women’s friendships, and says that friends are there to defend, laugh, comfort, give physical care and even give space to each other as needed, and that friendships also contain shadows.
Jealousy and being snippy can occur, often followed by forgiveness.
Friendships can slip away, and sometimes they are repaired, and sometimes they end. Some friends are only for some steps along the journey, and not for a life time.
The author quotes from my favorite author, C.S. Lewis and his book “The Four Loves”, and explores some movies like Beaches and The Big Chill, which makes me want to revisit them.
Davis’ book encourages me to look carefully at my friendships, strive to make them nurturing and continuing, and sometimes facing that we need to say goodbye to closeness that was treasured.… (more)

Sarah Zacharias Davis has written a meditation on friendship which draws upon her own experience, stories from other women and relevant literary references. She shares with her readers the results of her own quest for understanding why friendship is such an integral part of a woman's soul. She discusses the negative aspects of damaging friendships, why women long for friends, the temporary versus the long term friendships and how to let go when necessary. By examining the negative emotions that crop up in friendships the book outlines how trust and respect make for safe relationships where both parties can reveal there true selves without fear.

I found this book to be very realistic and relevant to the understanding of something that is often taken for granted. It would be a helpful book to have around if you are experiencing difficulties in your relationships, or are interested in enriching your current friendships. By gaining understanding of how gossip, jealousy, competition and co-dependence can ruin trust your friendships you can be on guard if you find yourself falling into these negative states. The book also prompted me to think about the importance of friendships and how they have shaped my personal life experiences. It was easy to read and a beautifully presented book. My only complaint was that there were too many rhetorical questions throughout the writing.… (more)

This is a rare book in that I did not make it all the way through it, but only read 3/4 of it before more exciting reads beckoned. I greatly admire the author's father, Ravi Zacharis, so I had high hopes for her book. Maintaining friendships seems like something most women struggle with so the topic intrigued me. The chapters are good and interesting, although it took me quite awhile to figure out that the anecdotes that begin each chapter and that are written in the first person did not necessarily refer to the author. The main problem I had with the book was its lack of a clear message. What I thought would be there, based on the introductory material, never quite seemed to materialize. So, I would rate it as mechanically sound but a bit fuzzy on its theme. Better luck next time.… (more)