St. Lucia, West Indies —  I am getting used to this!

Day 4 of our vacation and so far, I’ve taken four naps and read a fabulous book The Girls From Ames – A Story of Women & a 40-Year Friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow.  (More on that in a minute…)

I’ve also buried myself in great happiness reading countless magazines, including past and current issues of Oprah, Fortune Small Business and Vanity Fair where I caught up on the Bernie Madoff madness and reveled in Johnny Depp finding sanctuary on his own 46-acre Caribbean island called Little Hall’s Pond Cay.

But what intrigued me most was the book.  I laughed and cried; I cheered and marveled at the remarkable true story of 11 girls and the 10 women they became.

For Women on Fire especially, you will love this book of friendship and support and how these women from Ames, Iowa wove a safety net beneath their “tribe” as they faced together 40 years of love and loss from childhood, coming of age, college, careers, boyfriends, husbands, health, babies, kids and parents.

The book points out a number of studies showing innumerable positive results when women connect to each other.  Not the least of which is the result that having close and satisfying female friendships actually prolong women’s lives.

Growing up in Ohio in roughly the same era as the Iowa girls, I was transported by the book back to my own long-time friendships. I applaud these girlfriends from Ames (who now live all over the country) who’ve fostered and championed their relationships.  It’s hard enough to stay close with one or two childhood friends let alone 10.

Still, I cherish my own few forever relationships and this book illuminated my appreciation for them.  Here I am a couple of weeks ago on Nantucket visiting with my dear friend Elaine Moore whom I’ve known and adored since 6th grade, 42 years ago!

For more about The Girls from Ames, visit their website here.