"By turns hilarious, tender, and devastating, Rouse's novel explores what it means to be the sandwich generation of gays today -- caught between those who paved the way for equality, those who are too young to credit them, and a world that seems increasingly hostile." --Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author
In this poignant and hilarious story inspired by TV's beloved The Golden Girls, bestselling author Wade Rouse celebrates love, aging, finding your people, and the art of impeccably timed one-liners.
Theodore Copeland has created a fabulous life in the desert oasis of Palm Springs, where he shares a fabulous pink mid-century home with three fabulous friends: Barry, a former actor still clinging to his youth, his hair, and the memory of the dream role that killed his career; Ron, an uprooted Christian from the Midwest with a big heart but no one to give it to; Sid, who, after coming out late in life, has never found love. Teddy is the caustic, unspoken leader of "The Golden Gays"--the foursome's monthly drag tribute to The Golden Girls. Despite their foibles and bickering, they have turned their golden years into a golden era.
But the harmony of their desert enclave becomes a carousel of emotional baggage when Teddy's estranged sister, Trudy, shows up on their doorstep, her dramatic teenage granddaughter in tow. While Teddy tries to keep Trudy at arm's length, she manages to wheedle her way into the lives of the Golden Gays, until the real reason for her visit is revealed and the secrets they've all been keeping from each other unravel faster than a hastily stitched hemline.
A novel that gives thanks to "old" friends, That's What Friends Are For proves that while family may be the tie that binds, it's the chosen family that truly keeps us together.
Author: Wade Rouse
Publisher: Mira Books
Published: 03/03/2026
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.99lbs
Size: 9.28h x 6.34w x 1.24d
ISBN: 9781525800054
Review Citation(s):
Booklist 02/01/2026
Publishers Weekly 12/01/2025
About the Author
Rouse, Wade: - Wade Rouse is an internationally bestselling author of thirteen books, which have been translated into twenty languages and selected as Today Show Must-Reads, Indie Next Picks and Michigan Notable Books. Rouse writes fiction under his grandma's name, Viola Shipman, to honor the working-poor Ozarks woman whose memory inspires his writing. He lives in Michigan and California, and hosts Wine & Words with Wade, a literary happy hour, every Thursday.
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