Total Page : 416
Publisher : Harper
Publication Date : 2010 03 01
>> Shocking
Shocking in the fact that I cant believe a grown woman would go to such pains for Martha Stewart Friendship is one thing but M Stewart clearly bullied took adavantage of Ms Pasternak s friendship and she let her gladly Was she so enthralled with M S and her lifestyle that she was willing to be a Persian rug Apparently so So sad
>> Interesting juxtaposition of personality disorders
I really enjoyed reading this book First it was a peek under the covers of one of the most talented and driven people in business Martha Stewart Granted it was from one woman s perspective but it sounded much like what others have said about her behavior through the years Behavior aside she has contributed much to our culture in terms of the fine art of living graciously when much of it had been pushed aside It was fun to pick it back up again according to our own choices and we owe that to Martha
Many famous people have difficult personalities and bend the rules a little Martha was just one of them who got caught There are many guys running around on Wall Street and in our banking systems who actually really hurt The USA Martha wasn t one of them However she broke the law and served her time Would that we could get everyone who does that into federal prison
The author of the book had a strange dependent relationship with Martha that could be labeled as pathologic for both women How many of us would hang around to be used and abused for friendship This went on for years There was obviously a payoff for her in some way that let her continue to be a whipped puppy
So we have two people in this story one a frequent friend abuser and another staying around to be abused Both lived the high and interesting life That s what makes this story so interesting I d like to see someone make a good accurate psychological drama out of this book It would be amazing
>> a look at a friendship gone wrong
In Mariana Pasternak s book The Best of Friends she chronicles her twenty year friendship with Martha Stewart whose brand in homemaking has grown from strength to strength overshadowed only by Stewart s scandals In her book Pasternak reveals Martha s private sides the woman behind the brand Fresh from Romania and recently married Pasternak meets Stewart who has just moved in with her husband and they form a neighborly bond Their friendship evolves as that of couples though Pasternak ironically realizes that she has more in common with Martha s husband Andy than with her own husband Eventually Andy leaves Martha for a younger woman despite being the one to propel Martha toward her initial stardom which included the launch of her first cookbook and a hefty merchandising deal with Kmart After some time Mariana divorces her own husband citing Martha as one of their main sources of conflict
And it is as two single women that Martha and Pasternak form their strongest friendship As Stewart reaches new professional heights Pasternak trades in her engineering job for that of a realtor Being Martha s friend demands expensive taste and Mariana constantly struggles to keep up The two travel together to exotic places like Peru and Egypt where Martha s penchant for danger shapes their journeys Despite Stewart s popular image as the successful housewife she is shown as having a different side to her Pasternak reveals Martha s intimate sides that counter her professional image that of a competitive friend a fearless traveler whose experiences serve as work inspirations the betrayed girlfriend who throws a scene when her wealthy entrepreneur boyfriend cheats on her with a young blonde the lonely ex wife who strives to get her husband back and finally the smart businesswoman whose career suffers when she gets involved in the insider dealings Wall Street scandal Bonuses like Martha s personal house decorating experiences are also included
Overall I thought the book was well written The language is very descriptive and it tends to make you feel like you re participating in the action Pasternak and Martha are no longer friends but the book serves as an interesting reminder that sometimes friendships don t work out for a variety of reasons and it depends on both parties to rescue it before it disappears from their lives becoming nothing but an account of their shared past
