Best Friends - Softcover

Nachmias-Baeu, Yvette

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1483482766 ISBN 13: 9781483482767

Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services, 2018

Synopsis

Best Friends tells the story of two aspiring young women whose correspondence span a period of twenty-seven years,  during the sixties, when they are involved in the Downtown art, theater, music and political scene of the time, encountering and befriending people like; Bob Dylan, Dustin Hoffman, Shel Silverstein, Phil Ochs, Sam Shepard, Anna Halperin, Timothy Leary, Andre Gregory, Spaulding Gray, Eli Seigel, Andy Warhol, and ends during  the eighties when their lives have spun off into widely divergent paths, one of them tragically. It is the story of a brilliant woman with remarkable vitality whose life was often interrupted by bouts of acute schizophrenia. While the story is personal, the letters also catalog the wider world events. As Beth becomes a successful travel writer, her letters are sent from Ireland during the Troubles, from Israel in the wake of the six-day war, and from Berlin just after the building of the Wall.  You hear the authentic voices of two women growing up, and then growing older, at the heart of the 20th century--reflecting on their lives and wondering about their future against the fast-changing background of social and political turmoil, as men land on the surface of the moon.  The letters are real (rediscovered in the back of a file drawer) and offer insight, not just about the lives of these particular women but perhaps all women who came of age at that time and place, seen through the lens of a remarkable friendship

About this title

Review

A book about love and laughter and complicated lives. Rarely, if ever, does even the most avid reader come upon a book that touches her or his own life. But for me, this is such a book.In 1963, when best friends Beth Bryant and Yvette Nachmias moved into a Greenwich Village apartment, I too moved to Manhattan. In 1969, when Beth was traveling and writing and Yvette was preparing to leave New York permanently, I bought the latter's brass bed, on which I still sleep peacefully.  By 1969, I had come to know both women a bit, because I worked as a proofreader for Beth's publisher. But I had no idea how deep and intense their friendship was, how emotionally and intellectually connected they were, or how they stayed in one another' lives through letters over many years. This book is a biography, an autobiography, and a tough, tender portrait of a generation. In short, it is a book to stay up all night reading. You can sleep some other time!Phyllis Guest, Dallas, TexasYvette Nachmias-Baeu's nonfiction memoir, Best Friends, is a moving celebration of an enduring friendship. The letters Yvette sharesare powerful and held me under their sway as I read. I was frequently awed by how much Beth and Yvette did with their lives,especially at a time when most young girls lived at home until they were married. Beth's descriptions of Ireland and the countries she visits are marvelous, and Yvette's accounts of the West and East Coast cultures are inspiring. The Notes Yvette concludes each chapter with helped me get a full picture of the world they lived in. Reading this book has been an unforgettable experience and I'd urge anyone interested in the 1960s and 1970s to do so. Best Friends is most highly recommended.Jack Magnus, Reader's Favorite

 
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book of letters. What a gift of reflection, transformation, and friendship! The candor and directness in the letters between Yvette and Beth are refreshing.  I stayed with them and enjoyed the ride as they matured over the decades. This book is candid, poignant and heartbreaking all at once. I highly recommend this book.
 
Romina Carrillo Gutierrez

Best Friends is a story of an unusual relationship between two gifted women who share their lives in a correspondence that spans three decades. It is autobiographical and yet it is a memoir of another, a brilliant woman with remarkable vitality whose life is continually interrupted and altered by bouts of acute schizophrenia. Overarching moments of shared experiences and gossip, Best Friends reveals a period of time, an almost distant history, filled with personal and social transformations that affect our lives. I was deeply moved by the story of Beth Bryant and writer, Yvette Nachimas-Baeu, and thought that Beth's yearning to become a great writer has been realized in the pages of Best Friends with her best friend. 
Bianca Gray

I did not want this book to ever end! It chronicles the adventures of two wonderfully articulate and funny young women, told in a series of letters written to each other over three decades starting with the tumultuous sixties.
A falling out, a mental breakdown, many loves and occupations that span New York to San Francisco to London and Dublin and beyond, keep the reader completely engaged, and at the same time makes one reflect on one's own experiences with life and history.
 
Tony Alicata, Quincy, MA

Best Friends is one of the most unique and beautiful books I have ever read courtesy of the exceptional author, Yvette Nachmias-Baeu. Best Friends is a book that is hard to describe because it is part memoir, part autobiography, and part history thanks to the many real-life historical events that are explored throughout the book.  
Best Friends is a book I was desperate to read ever since discovering it because the plot alludes to a poignant journey of friendship and mental illness. Throughout the book, she will share letters which tell the story of her and her friend Beth's lives. The letters exchanged between the two were written over twenty-seven years and will take the reader on an expansive journey from San Francisco to New York, and beyond, throughout many decades. Together the two had many adventures and were involved in the art and political scene in the sixties, which introduced them to many stars including Dustin Hoffman and Bob Dylan.
The reader is taken on a profoundly moving trip, especially because so much of it is shared through letters which are in themselves personal and poignant, making the book even more moving. If you are a reader who loves to be taken on poignant journeys and learn of key historical events through the eyes of people who were there, then Best Friends is for you and should not be missed!
Yvette Nachmias-Baeu's story is an exceptional one that will speak volumes to many readers, especially to those that lived in the same era, experiencing the same events or those that have been touched by Schizophrenia. The story,  at times, is incredibly profound, is still an inspiring one because the women the reader is introduced to are phenomenal and will inspire readers for a long time. Yvette, as well as Beth, are truly wonderful women, not only for their incredible writing but also for Yvette's reasons for sharing her story.
Best Friends is an informative, well-written memoir with words that flow beautifully throughout,  so I have no choice but to award this stunning book a brilliant five stars.  Best Friends will make the perfect read for you, so do not miss this book! 
ANN AIMME, United Kingdom "Red-Headed Book Lover Blog"

About this edition

• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1483482766
• ISBN 13: 9781483482767
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 286