There is no greater gift than friendship. For the first time in fifty years, Lynette Howe’s financial struggles are behind her. Her wildly prosperous online boutique is now someone else’s headache. It wasn’t hard to bid farewell to the fast-paced lifestyle of New York City, but designing her new life in the quiet town she left decades ago isn’t working. Men used to find her intriguing—mysterious, even—when her role as a stylish CEO demanded most of her time. Women’s desire to emulate her only helped fuel her success. But now? Now she spends her days poking around the small town of Ruby Shores, talking to a cat. She isn’t the only one struggling. Her mother, Donna, remains by her side, but sometimes it feels like their roles have reversed. Even though they’ve accomplished great things together, both women harbor unspoken dreams. Will their codependency lead to regrets? Lynette welcomes the distraction of her annual girls’ trip with her four best friends. This year’s destination isn’t a plane ride away. Instead, they’ll go back to the peaceful solitude of Whispering Pines. It’ll feel like summer camp all over again . . . except for adults. She could use some girlish giggles, along with coffee on the dock at sunrise or wine around a sunset campfire. But unexpected guests bring turmoil to the resort. When long-hidden secrets come to light and unsettling news arrives from New York, not even the tranquility of Whispering Pines or the reassuring presence of her girlfriends can stop Lynette from questioning every decision she’s made during the past two years. Slip away with this uplifting group to the restful Minnesota lake resort of Whispering Pines in Gift of Friends by Kimberly Diede. You’re sure to catch their laughter floating on a warm lakeside breeze in this fourth book of the Kaleidoscope Girls women’s fiction series. Hopeful expectations, mixed with delicious surprises and shocking truths, will have you cheering on both daughter and mother in this colorful celebration of female friendships. If you enjoy books by Hope Holloway, Fiona Baker, or Rebecca Regnier then join along in the fun with the Kaleidoscope Girls. THE KALEIDOSCOPE GIRLS series, in order Better with Friends Sunshine and Friends Five Golden Friends Gift of Friends Life with Friends (available December 2024) Also by Kimberly Diede is the uplifting Gift of Whispering Pines women’s fiction series, where you will feel like part of an amazing family. GIFT OF WHISPERING PINES series in order Whispering Pines Tangled Beginnings Rebuilding Home Capturing Wishes Choosing Again Celia’s Gifts Celia’s Legacy First Summers at Whispering Pines (FREE novella, visit her website for more)

Come along for a fun girls' trip to Arizona with a group of old friends as they navigate the challenges of midlife together. Can these forever friends recapture their zest for life together? Annie Pierce knows the best part of turning fifty will be raising a glass in a toast with her oldest friends. As long as there is water, wine, and warmth, plus time to reminisce and reconnect, everyone should be happy. Fun with friends is a great way to escape life for a while. And Annie needs the escape. Will a week in Arizona be enough to quell her growing trepidation? She’d expected to enjoy her empty nest, but the house is too quiet and regrets are piling up over decisions made long ago. The rift within her blended family feels like a chasm. Her husband is pulling away, her ex is back, and loyalties are in question. Frustrations at work aren’t helping. A favorite student is making stupid choices and putting lives at risk. As she awaits her first grandchild, Annie would give anything to bring her family back together. How can this soon-to-be grandma muster the energy to save both her family and her students? She’ll need the support of her best friends if she’s going to move forward through these paralyzing midlife struggles. She used to be fearless. Now she’s frozen. Can Annie begin to thaw under the Arizona sun with a little help from her friends? Enjoy a fun-filled girls’ trip with this welcoming group in Five Golden Friends, book three of The Kaleidoscope Girls women’s friendship series by Kimberly Diede. Life is a compilation of yesterday’s choices, but hard-earned wisdom plus a little courage can lead to new pathways and fewer regrets. Treat yourself to Five Golden Friends for a reminder that we can do more than survive. We can thrive. If you enjoy books by Hope Holloway, Fiona Baker, or Rebecca Regnier then join along in the fun with the Kaleidoscope Girls. THE KALEIDOSCOPE GIRLS series, in order Better with Friends Sunshine and Friends Five Golden Friends Gift of Friends (available 2024) with more to come Also by Kimberly Diede is the uplifting Celia’s Gifts women’s fiction series, where you will feel like part of an amazing family. CELIA’S GIFTS series in order Whispering Pines Tangled Beginnings Rebuilding Home Capturing Wishes Choosing Again Celia’s Gifts Celia’s Legacy First Summers at Whispering Pines (FREE novella, visit her website for more)

For so many of us, our friends are like family members--we lean on them through our highest highs and our lowest lows--but sometimes those friendships don't turn out quite as we hoped. Bible teacher Kelly Needham debunks our world's constricted, narrow view of friendship and casts a richer, more life-giving, biblical vision for friendship. In Friend-ish, Kelly Needham reminds us that we were called to more than halfhearted friendships and lukewarm connections. We need something more stable, secure, and sacred. We were designed for real friendship--but the difficult truth is that too many of us are settling for less. Kelly deconstructs what Scripture says about the gift of friendship and takes a closer look at the distorted view that most of us have instead. As she shares the lessons she's learned from experience, Kelly paints her own glorious vision of what Christian friendship could look like. With hard-fought wisdom, a clear view of Scripture, and a been-there perspective, Friend-ish teaches us how to: Recognize symptoms of idolatry and toxic dependency Boldly ask for what we need from our community of friends Understand and address the problems that arise in friendship--from neediness to discord Recognize when it's time to end an unhealthy friendship Reorient toward the purposeful, loving relationships we all crave that ultimately bring us closer to God Find the friends you need and start to become that friend for others Join Kelly as she challenges you to view your chosen family in a new light, gain a vision of friendship according to Jesus, and finally enjoy friendships as God intended.

God made you for friendship. Friendship is one of the deepest pleasures of life. But in our busy, fast-paced, mobile world, we've lost this rich view of friendship and instead settled for shallow acquaintances based on little more than similar tastes or shared interests. Helping us recapture a vision of true friendship, pastor Drew Hunter explores God's design for friendship and what it really looks like in practice—giving us practical advice to cultivate the kinds of true friendships that lead to true and life-giving joy.

With energetic illustrations and heartfelt words, this book is filled with snapshots of why you're friends forever.

Friendship is. . . A big welcome at the airport, wearing the same outfit by accident, letting you show off, coming to the rescue, and so much more! From Lisa Swerling and Ralph Lazar, famed illustrators and the authors of Happiness Is. . ., this adorable gift book illustrates the very best things about friendship. The charming, make-you-smile illustrations hit just the right note and give us hundreds of reasons to appreciate our friends. A universally appealing gift for birthdays, holidays, or a little pick-me-up, this cheerful collection is the perfect way to say "thank you for being a friend!"

Study #4 in the Focus on the Family Women’s Bible Study Series. This study will help women build godly relationships with one another and experience the joy and support that comes from bearing each other's burdens and lifting one another up in prayer. Provides the opportunity for women to reconnect with their Savior and one another through Bible study, prayer, fellowship and activities.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER They met over their dogs. Gail Caldwell and Caroline Knapp (author of Drinking: A Love Story) became best friends, talking about everything from their love of books and their shared history of a struggle with alcohol to their relationships with men. Walking the woods of New England and rowing on the Charles River, these two private, self-reliant women created an attachment more profound than either of them could ever have foreseen. Then, several years into this remarkable connection, Knapp was diagnosed with cancer. With her signature exquisite prose, Caldwell mines the deepest levels of devotion, and courage in this gorgeous memoir about treasuring a best friend, and coming of age in midlife. Let’s Take the Long Way Home is a celebration of the profound transformations that come from intimate connection—and it affirms, once again, why Gail Caldwell is recognized as one of our bravest and most honest literary voices.

Throughout her academic career, Christine D. Pohl has helped the church rediscover practices that used to be central to its life, like hospitality, community, and friendship. Perhaps best known for her groundbreaking Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition, she has also contributed significantly to discussions on Christian community, feminism and the academy, and the practice of friendship. Yet behind this lies a lifetime of “lived theology” that informs her life and her work, both inside and outside the academy. Containing biblical, systematic, and moral theology, these essays are scriptural and liturgical, multidisciplinary and missional. Several of them could be described as offering essays of “lived theology,” writing and reflecting from within years of action and contemplation. They build upon particularly fruitful aspects of Pohl’s work, through expansion, clarification, and occasional disagreement. A mix of scholars and practitioners, colleagues, former students, and friends, the contributors represent a wide variety of theoretical and practical expertise. This volume honors Pohl most when its readers choose to take the wisdom within its pages and embody that in life together.