The Summer Friend: A Memoir

A wistful look back at family, youth, and the intoxicating magic of New England summers, as well as a rumination on friendship and loss, by an esteemed writer and essayist and the former editor of The New York Times Book Review


We all have vivid memories of summers past and the bright skin of youth: of those first days when school has ended; of long days of leisure and pleasure reading dog-eared paperbacks; of camps or cottages or vacation spots we returned to every year; of family road trips and their attendant stresses; of our sexual awakenings and longings; of first dates and becoming lovestruck; of fireworks and lawn games; of penny candies and thunderstorms and drive-in movie theaters; of bracing swims and inevitable sunburns; of outdoor showers and sandy feet; and, who can forget, of timeless friendships forged.

In The Summer Friend, Charles McGrath looks back at his younger days and the pleasures of summer with affection and longing, recalling with a gimlet eye experiences familiar to so many of us. But he also looks back with a clarity that suggests many of our memories may have become idealized over time. More than a tribute to seasons past, The Summer Friend is also a poignant story about friendship, about two men from different backgrounds who come together late in life, bonding over shared experiences, experiences born in the saddle of summer and beyond, and with children afoot. Later, when his friend is stricken with cancer, their relationship is imbued with new measure and meaning.

A paean to family, friendship and youth.