I’ll never forget the feeling I had my first day in Seattle. It was rainy. I was full of self-doubt, alone, and scared. I had a knot in my stomach that lingered for weeks. This artsy book about friendship reminds me of this time. It reminds me of all the times I was lonely, the times I really needed a friend. Those times suck. But they sure make me cherish friendship. A chat with a good pal brings light to my day. A simple facebook like makes me smile. This book reminds me of the specialness of friend-love, friend crushes, and connections (online or in real life). It inspires me to tell my friends I love them.
Artist Yumi Sakugawa’s combines her passions of drawing and writing to create this quirky book titled I Think I Am In Friend-Love With You. Yumi Sakugawa explains: “What’s friend-love? It’s that super-awesome bond you share with someone who makes you happy every time you text each other, or meet up for an epic outing. It’s not love-love. You don’t want to swap saliva; you want to swap favorite books. But it’s just as intense and just as amazing.”
The comic-style book expresses all the random acts of kindness—texts sent, real hugs, coffees delivered, facebook shares, dinners made—that we all hope our friends will do for us. A woman, who I admire dearly, once told me that it is rare to have truly close friends and that in a lifetime if you have 2-3 you are blessed. Maybe she’s right; I hope she’s wrong. I have a lot of friend love to go around.
If all of this is just too sappy for you, go-ahead take a look at the book, I bet it will make you smile.
See more of Yumi Sakugawa’s illustrations and comics on her website, check out her blog across the yumiverse.