Peggy Panosh - Billions of besties: A Celebration of Fascinating and Simply Exceptional Friendships

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Copyright 2020 by Peggy Panosh and Susie Arons

Illustrations 2020 by Peggy Panosh

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First Tiller Press hardcover edition October 2020

This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects addressed in the publication. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind of personal, professional services in the book. The reader should consult his or her medical, health, or other competent professional before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from it.

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Interior design by Matt Ryan

Cover illustrat ions by Peggy Panosh

Cover design by Patrick Sullivan

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Panosh, Peggy, author, illustrator. | Arons, Susie, author.

Title: Billions of besties : a celebration of fascinating and simply exceptional friendships / Peggy Panosh + Susie Arons ; illustrated by Peggy Panosh.

Other titles: Celebration of fascinating and simply exceptional friendships

Description: First Tiller Press hardcover edition. | New York, NY : Tiller Press, An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2020.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020021259 (print) | LCCN 2020021260 (ebook) | ISBN 9781982149857 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781982149871 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Best friendsAnecdotes. | CelebritiesAnecdotes. | FriendshipAnecdotes. | Characters and characteristics.

Classification: LCC BF575.F66 P35 2020 (print) | LCC BF575.F66 (ebook) | DDC 177/.62--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020021259

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020021260

ISBN 978-1-9821-4985-7

ISBN 978-1-9821-4987-1 (ebook)

FROM PEGGY PANOSH

For my familyPolly, Stuart, Ciel, Leo, Jennifer, John, Madeline, Harrison, Tom, Heidi, Phil + Abbythe most loving, lively + supportive goofballs I could ever ask for.

FROM SUSIE ARONS

Every day I carry this pitch-perfect trio in my heart. Bob, Aron + Jeremy, you make everything matter. Best. Most. Always.

BESTIES ARE SOULMATES. They get each other. There are all kinds of besties and we can even have more than one. Friendships evolve over timesometimes they grow together, other times they drift apart and come back together again. Whether we call them our BFF, bae, pal, babe, best mate, muffin, buddy, boo, bro, doll, soul sister, or superfriend, besties have a bond that cannot always be described but is always magical.

Our quest was to create a book that shines a light on some of the most engaging, funny, inspirational, and sometimes unexpected best friends that existed in real life as well as those that have been created throughout generations of art, culture, and entertainment. Whether in books, movies, television, theater, art, music, fashion, or cartoons, from the beginning of time, billions of best friends have come together to forge relationships that cannot always be explained, except by the besties themselves. And when you have someones back, that is all the explanation that is needed.

We curated and explored all of the friendships in this book for you through our lens of curiosity, respect, and positivity and sprinkled it with an abundance of delight and a little bit of a wink. We hope you share it with your besties and have as much fun reading it as we did making it!

In the spirit of friendship + love,

Peggy + Susie

P.S. Thank you, Bob, for not opening the pool on time ;)

OG. Gold standard. Legendary. When you ask people to define best friends, there is one friendship that is always celebrated and often emulated:

THEY HAVE CAPTURED the ideals we all look for in a best friend: pure love, boundless joy, and unwavering support. They lift each other up, revel in each others highs, comfort each other during the lows, always finding time for laughter and delight. Gayle is the mother, sister, touchstone that Oprah always wanted. Oprah is the advocate, the sounding board, and soul sister for Gayle. For more than 40 years, they have spoken nearly every single day. They revel in their individual successes and bask in each others bright light. Their friendship is the North Star of friendships. It is transcendent. It is enduring. It is truly inspiring.

AMY POEHLER + TINA FEY

AMY: What sums up our friendship best? Mmmhh how about that people believed it when I said we were actually like the Olsen twins and came from the same womb, which is why my pinkie and your thumb had the same fingerprint?

TINA: No. I think it was that we first bonded when we were like 22 or 23, at the ImprovOlympic Theater, and I taught you that you could either pluck your eyebrows or have a lady put hot wax on them. It was your first real beauty lesson.

AMY: How about that time when you had two girls and I had two boys and we already planned their weddings to each other and what we were going to wear (peach, which you also checked was going to be on trend in 20 years).

TINA: Or the time we were the first lady Weekend Update anchors on SNL or the only women Golden Globe hosts in 2013, 2014, and, oh yeah, in 2015. And then opened the 2019 Oscars with Maya.

AMY: I liked it when you said in an interview that we have tremendous respect for each other and when we first started working together it was like two beautiful baby lions who were put in a cage and didnt eat each other. That was beautiful.