Women Speaking For Women: The Power Of Friendship

FAIRFIELD — Award-winning authors Ellen Goodman and Patricia O’Brien will talk about the power of women’s friendships as keynote speakers for “Speaking of Women,” an event of the Center for Women and Families of Eastern Fairfield County and WB11 Care For Kids Fund, a Fund of the Robert B. McCormick Tribune Foundation. The third annual luncheon will take place on Tuesday, September 19, at noon, at the William Pitt Center at Sacred Heart University, 5151 Park Avenue.

Ms Goodman and Ms O’Brien are the authors of I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women’s Lives. A memoir and celebration of their own 25-year friendship, the book interweaves their story with the stories of devoted friends from all walks of life.

The ladies’ lunchtime comments will evolve from the insights they explore in the book about what makes friendship between women such a life-affirming force.

“We know in a thoroughly satisfying way that an enduring friendship is one of life’s best payoffs,” the women have written. “It takes time and focus, and it is frequently a juggling act, but in a world of so many tumultuous transitions, it can be a sustaining pleasure of surprising force.”

In preparing the book, the authors interviewed women from many walks of life, including former Connecticut television personality Gayle King and her long time friend Oprah Winfrey. The two also spoke with less well-known welfare mothers, cancer survivors, and college friends. The book not only celebrates the joys of female friendships, but also takes a hard look at what can divide friends.

“Isolating a woman from her friends is a common technique of abusive partners to maintain their control over the women,” says Kristine Hazzard, president of the Center for Women and Families of Eastern Fairfield County.

“Friends can be pivotal in leading an abused or sexually assaulted woman to seek help,” she continued. Ms Goodman and Ms O’Brien have revealed the qualities of women’s friendships – the trust, commitment to each other’s welfare, openness – that help explain why friends and support groups are especially important to women in crisis.”

Ellen Goodman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Boston Globe. Her syndicated column appears opposite the editorial page in The Connecticut Post and nearly 400 other newspapers. She is also the author of a book on social change entitled Turning Points, and her columns have been published in five collections.

Patricia O’Brien was a political correspondent and columnist for Knight-Ridder newspapers in Washington, DC, before becoming press secretary to presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in 1987. Recently she has authored both novels and non-fiction, including The Woman Alone and Staying Together: Marriages That Work. She has been a commentator for CBS Morning News and a book reviewer for The New York Times.

“Speaking of Women” is a major fundraiser for the center’s programs on behalf of victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, as well as women newly released from prison. A portion of the proceeds benefit the WB11 Care For Kids Fund, which supports organizations like the Center and others.

Guests are asked to donate $100 or more during the luncheon. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the Center for Women and Families in Bridgeport at 203/334-6154.