Friendship comes under the microscope, or rather the keyboard of award winning author Patti Miller in True Friends, as she sits down to take a serious look at what is involved in friendship and the effect that occurs when a lifelong friendship comes to an end.
Written in a somewhat sombre and reflective style, the works tend to wander across that pages in the form of a long term friendship; an assumption that you get what it is that is being talked about, discussed and that the love and warmth folded into that friendship over the years, crosses boundaries to fill the cracks.
Patti and Gina had been friends for years, sharing life both in Australia and overseas together, the highs, lows and the sheer fun of life and living. Gina had become a warm and familiar part of Patti’s life, and when the slow coolness began to creep in eventually seeing the door close, she was left wondering about what friendship, true friendship is all about; what is the emotional glue that although it seems it would never undo, somehow more often than not, simply does.
Exquisitely layered there is much room for though within each page, as the season of grief must be faced and understood. The many questions are asked; perhaps it was my fault, what did I do wrong, blame laying, blame acceptance, but all the while really trying understanding what did go wrong, if anything and the deeply buried hope that someday Gina, would come back into her life.
True Friends is a very personal memoir of a search for a reason, or a cause that is familiar to everyone. Some friendships are only meant to last a short time, others for a lifetime but to have one true friend is a most special thing offered by life.
Patti Miller refers to her process of her journey as ‘archaeology’ and uses other friendships past and present to enable understanding of this loss of friendship.
Laying out ‘friendship’ in many forms brings with it an understanding of the aspects of friendship. Looking back to friendships made as a child, she struggles to remember much more than images, floating thoughts, adolescent friendship, school mates, people who travelled the same pathway for a period of time, but also moved on, leaving behind memories as fleeting as time.
Slow to read, perseverance is required but it is well worth the time invested to be able to take out what consists of the meaning of ‘true friendship’, which also presents a clearer understanding of the fragile nature of friendship; long, short, casual and indifferent.
