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Reviewed by Inga Buccella for Readers' Favorite
An Unconditional Friendship by James Pauley Jr. and Charlene Potterbaum is a collection of email letters between the two following a chance meeting soon after September 11th, 2001. At a funeral for a flight attendant who had been on American Airlines flight 11, Jim and "Char" first met. A year later, when Char was selling her latest book in a church vestibule, they met again. Serendipity had struck twice. Both Jim and Charlene reside in Indiana, but that's where the similarities seem to end. Church-going Charlene is twenty-four years older than Jim, married with six children, and is a self-proclaimed lazy housekeeper. Openly gay Jim travels the world as a flight attendant, is multilingual, and lives with his partner and his dog named Reggie. He is also fastidiously clean and tidy. The "pen pals" exchanges overflow with life observations and humorous in-flight stories. Some are irreverent, but all are entertaining.
I felt the unlikely but deep spiritual connection between James Pauley Jr. and Charlene Potterbaum throughout the pages of their book, An Unconditional Friendship. The writing is funny, but also thought-provoking at times. Often, I had to reread to see who penned the letters because both Char and Jim often have similar and sometimes sarcastic writing styles. I particularly appreciated the perfectly punny chapter titles like "Beatrice Maud: A 'Regular' Girl". You can guess what that one is about! If you need a break from novels or non-fiction books, try delving into An Unconditional Friendship: Messages from a Colorful Granny and an Off-Color Gay Guy. I can almost guarantee you'll be rolling in the (airplane) aisles reading this one.
