The memoir describes the friendship between the author and fellow writer Caroline Knapp who died at the age of 42 in 2002, and it takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Finding Caroline was like placing a personal ad for an imaginary friend, then having her show up at your door funnier and better than you could have conceived.

"[1] The growth of their friendship, the strength of their bond, the tragedy of Caroline's short fight against lung cancer and the grief beyond are all detailed.

Let's Take the Long Way Home: a memoir of friendship won the New England Book Award in 2010.

Time magazine states that it is "[h]eartbreaking but never maudlin" and "a testament to the power and beauty of mature friendship.