Investing in Each Other: Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman

Making friends isn't easy, particularly now. Neither is holding on to friendships. The hosts of the hit podcast Call Your Girlfriend explain why you need to fight for them.

Keep your friends close—but it's not that simple, right? A close friendship can be one of the most influential and important relationships in our lives, but keeping it together for the long haul is no small task. In their book, Big Friendship, Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, hosts of the podcast Call Your Girlfriend, chronicle the first decade of their messy and life-affirming relationship: from moments of charmed bliss and deep frustration to profound connection and gut-wrenching alienation. Through interviews with friends and experts, Big Friendship reveals that we all must make the decision to invest in one another again and again.

Friedman and Sow discuss how bonds are formed, challenged, and preserved and call on us to choose, value, and fight for our friendships in all of their complexity.

LIVE from NYPL is made possible by the support of Library patrons and friends, as well as by the continuing generosity of Celeste Bartos, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos, and the Margaret and Herman Sokol Public Education Endowment Fund.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Aminatou Sow is a writer, interviewer, and cultural commentator. She is a frequent public speaker whose talks and interviews lead to candid conversations about ambition, money, and power. Aminatou lives in Brooklyn. 

Ann Friedman is a journalist, essayist, and media entrepreneur. She is a contributor editor to The Gentlewoman. Every Friday, she sends a popular email newsletter. Ann lives in Los Angeles.

GET THE BOOK
If you have a NYPL library card—or live in New York state and want to apply for one now—you can borrow Big Friendship for free with our e-reader app SimplyE, available for iOS and Android devices. The title is available in accessible formats for community members who do not use standard print. Find out more at: nypl.org/talkingbooks. You can also request this book, and more, for pickup at one of our Grab & Go locations.

Readers everywhere who wish to purchase copies of Big Friendship can do so at The New York Public Library Shop. Proceeds benefit The New York Public Library. Plus, receive a 125th Anniversary tote bag with your purchase!

This program will be streamed on Zoom and simulcast to YouTube. You must register with your email address in order to receive the link to participate. Please check your email shortly before the discussion to receive the link. Captions for this event will be provided. 

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Aminatou Sow & Ann Friedman © Milan Zrnic