{"id":2641,"date":"2025-10-27T10:40:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T14:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/?p=2641"},"modified":"2025-11-07T09:20:44","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T14:20:44","slug":"reflecting-on-grief-in-my-friends-with-mums-book-discussion-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/2025\/10\/reflecting-on-grief-in-my-friends-with-mums-book-discussion-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflecting on Grief in “My Friends,” with MUM\u2019s Book Discussion Group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Clare Sherman —<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Members of MUM\u2019s Book Discussion Group gathered at the Gardner-Harvey Library on October 24th to unpack “My Friends” by Fredrik Backman. In a lively discussion, group members walked through moments both beautiful and heartrending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Backman, the beloved author known for “A Man Called Ove,” “Beartown,” and “Anxious People,” centered his newest release around the powerful bond of four teenagers whose friendship impacts the life of a stranger twenty-five years later.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The novel follows two timelines. In the present, eighteen-year-old artist Louisa is unexpectedly put in charge of a mysterious painting called “The One of the Sea.” At the bottom corner sit three small figures whose presence invites Louisa to discover their backstory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-five years prior, four teenagers share a transformative summer of connection, hope, and solace from their home lives. From the story of Joar, Ali, Ted, and \u201cthe artist,\u201d comes a work of art that inspires Louisa\u2019s own journey of friendship, loss, and art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the discussion, attendees praised the impressive writing and craftsmanship, noting how well the plot jumped between the two timelines while staying emotionally engaging. Group members wondered at how the author\u2019s own experiences influenced the book, as heavy themes of loss felt accurate and palpable, resonating deeply with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One reader expressed her appreciation for the tasteful handling of topics such as child abuse and teen suicide. She noted that Backman\u2019s inclusion of humor and lightheartedness allowed readers to engage with serious discussions in a bearable way, adding that she \u201cwould love to see the book in high schools.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief was another theme that garnered the group\u2019s attention. They were drawn to the blunt dialogue that captures the emotion\u2019s permanence, such as when Louisa admits that nothing eliminates her grief, and certain things like art can only help her cope. Despite this bleak depiction, the readers found comfort in Louisa\u2019s honesty, discussing how important it is to seek rays of hope amidst the pain of loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another attendee pointed out how the characters dealt with grief by imagining their lost ones in different houses, as if they only moved away after passing. The group found this imagery comforting, with one member wanting to start thinking about her own lost ones this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Burke, Principal Librarian at the Gardner-Harvey Library and host of the event, concluded the conversation by stating My Friends<\/em> was one of the most positively received books at MUM\u2019s Book Discussion Group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Miami University Middletown\u2019s Book Discussion Group will hold its next meeting on November 21st, at 11:30 am, to discuss “Madstone” by Elizabeth Crook. Readers who want to catch up on all upcoming Gardner-Harvey Library events can visit their events calendar.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Clare Sherman — Members of MUM\u2019s Book Discussion Group gathered at the Gardner-Harvey Library on October 24th to unpack “My Friends” by Fredrik Backman. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":9443,"featured_media":2642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-communities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}