{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0375703675?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"0375703675","authors":["Hilary Liftin","Kate Montgomery"],"book_id":"9780375703676","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780375703676","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780375703676.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","description":"A funny and moving story told through the letters of two women nurturing a friendship as they are separated by distance, experience, and time. Close friends and former college roommates, Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery promised to write when Kate's Peace Corps assignment took her to Africa. Over the course of a single year, they exchanged an offbeat and moving series of letters from rural Kenya to New York City and back again. Kate, an idealistic teacher, meets unexpected realities ranging from poisonous snakes and vengeful cows to more serious hazards: a lack of money for education; a student body in revolt. Hilary, braving the singles scene in Manhattan, confronts her own realities, from unworthy suitors to job anxiety and first apartment woes. 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