MWF Seeking BFF

Posted on by Heather

From the Trade Paperback editionMWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche
Published by Bellantine Books, an imprint of Random House
Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Rachel Bertsche happily moved from New York City to Chicago to finally live in the same city – and apartment – as her fiance. But shortly after they get married, she realized that, while she loved living in Chicago, she was missing a crucial aspect of a happy life – best friends. All of her BFFs were back in New York and various other parts of the country. So Rachel decided to dedicate a year of her life to finding a local best friend. She tries everything – blind “dates”, online friendship meet-ups, taking an improv class, joining a book club, and more. What she discovers is that, although it’s extremely awkward and difficult to make new friends as an adult, Bertsche is nowhere near alone in her desire for new friends. Many of the women she talks to over the course of that year admit that they, too, badly want new friends but were ashamed to admit their friendlessness. MWF Seeking BFF is a hilarious, heartfelt, and at times extremely poignant memoir about one woman’s quest to find The One – BFF, that is.

I decided to read this book because Bertsche’s story is so similar to my own. Two years ago, I moved to a completely new city in which I knew not one person, besides my husband of course, who moved with me. I can completely understand where the idea from this project came from – it’s tough to literally have no friends in the city in which you live. A husband is great and everything, but there is nothing like a good girlfriend, a fact that Bertsche points out several times throughout her book, even using research to back up this claim. And truthfully, I can attest to how difficult it is to make new friends as an adult. All the friends I have made since I moved two years ago have come from three places: work, church, and wives/girlfriends of my husband’s new friends. So, needless to say, MWF Seeking BFF really hit home for me and I love the fact that Bertsche did this project and wrote about her experiences with such unflinching honesty.

And I must admit, I loved this book. I took to Bertsche immediately – I even thought about what a shame it is that I no longer live in Chicago, truly I feel that she and I would get along quite well. She details her year in a completely frank, no-nonsense way – the kind of writing that I am really drawn to in a memoir. Several of the “dates” she went on were absolutely hilarious, and the fact that Bertsche is completely self-deprecating and doesn’t take herself too seriously made these funny moments all the more hysterical.

If you are looking for a smart and funny memoir that any woman can relate to, MWF Seeking BFF is not to be missed.

Published by Heather

15 thoughts on “MWF Seeking BFF”

  1. Hi Heather,

    I totally agree with you – I recently read and reviewed this book and loved it. Rachel has written in a way that’s completely easy to read and relate to!

  2. I bought this one, knowing I’d want to read, I’ve relocated several times in my adult life, and making friends isn’t the easiest thing to do, it can be quite lonely at times.
    Wonderful review Heather.

  4. I can totally relate to wanting to make friends, and having a hard time. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but when I first moved here, I had such difficulty finding friends and people to spend time with who were like me. It’s gotten a lot better, and I have learned to take chances and just be as friendly as I can, but I think I would totally relate to this memoir and need to take the time to read it and see what I think. Great and very honest review today.

  7. It is SO hard to make friends as an adult — she is not lying! I am always rather heartened to read of projects like this where people embark on these projects and find themselves getting better and better at arranging friend-dates or whatever. It makes it all feel so possible. :p

  8. Well, I don’t feel so bad now. I’ve lived four years in this new place and still don’t have any good friends. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who struggles with making those connections!

  9. I need to read this, since it sounds like I can relate, too. Although I still live in the area I grew up, my friends from high school moved away for college and didn’t come back. And then my college friends all moved away. And then the few other close friends I managed to find have (or will soon) move away. Or they had kids and I didn’t, which can also be hard on friendships. It’s enough to give a person a complex!

  10. I can so relate to this! We’ve been here 10 years but before Gage I met all my friends through a newcomers group and all of the women are so transient. I’ve lost one best friend after another here! The upside is that we have lots of great places to visit but it’s hard not to have someone 5 minutes away.

  11. I have been really curious about this one lately and even recommended it to a friend who told me that she wishes she had more girlfriends (she recently moved to Dallas). I can absolutely relate to the idea of trying to make friends–even though I’ve lived in Dallas most of my married life and most of my childhood/youth, I have no idea how to go about meeting new people. Maybe I need to try speed friending. 🙂

  12. I enjoyed this book too. She writes in such an easy to read and relate to style. I even checked out some of her suggestions and I’m tempted to join the Girlfriend Circles.

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