Elin Hilderbrand and “Kin” Author Tayari Jones Talk Found Family Ahead of “The Five-Star Weekend ”Premiere

Rachel RaposasWed, July 1, 2026 at 8:41 PM UTC

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Elin Hilderbrand and Tayari Jones.Credit: Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty; Kristina Bumphrey/WWD via Getty -

Tayari Jones and Elin Hilderbrand reflected on the profound impact of friendship and found family in their respective bestselling novels

Jones' Kin follows two women, who were inseparable as children, as they forge vastly different paths in the American South

Elin Hilderbrand's The Five-Star Weekend meets one grieving woman and her four closest friends — from four different eras of her life

Elin Hilderbrand and Tayari Jones are reflecting on the powerful female friendships that center their bestselling novels.

The Kinauthorjoined Hilderbrand and co-host Tim Ehrenberg on their podcast Books, Beach, & Beyond, for a chat on the profound impact of friendship, as illustrated in their hit books.

"Your closest friends, they carry with them the archive of your life. They complete your memories," said Jones. "Have you ever been talking to a friend and you're remembering something and they remember part of it that you've forgotten? That means your own memory is incomplete without that person."

"And that's what Niecy and Annie do for each other," Jones continued, referencing the pair of protagonists in her bestselling novel, which came out in February. Annie and Vernice (Niecy) are two motherless girls growing up in the American South, who "have been best friends and neighbors since earliest childhood" but who ultimately lead vastly different lives.

'Kin' by Tayari Jones, which follows two women, inseparable since childhood, who forge very different lives in the American South.Credit: Knopf

Kin, which was selected as one of Oprah's Book Club picks earlier this year,tackles themes of family and found family, particularly between women. If your biological relatives are "not getting the job done," Jones added, it's beautiful that there's another option for companionship.

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"We all need found family because there's so much agency in found family. It is your own way of tending the emotional garden of your life," she said.

The themes of found family are also strong in Hilderbrand's The Five-Star Weekend, her beloved novel about female friendship from all walks and moments of life. The book, originally published in 2023, has been adapted into a miniseries, set to debut on July 9 on Peacock.

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand, which meets one grieving woman and her four closest friends — from four different times in her life.Credit: Back Bay Books

The Five-Star Weekend meets Hollis, a woman who supposedly has it all, when an unexpected tragedy strikes. Eager to surround herself with supportive friends, she organizes a "Five-Star Weekend" — comprised of herself and four friends, each from a different stage of her life. But the picturesque concept is far from immune to friction and chaos.

The screen adaptation will feature eight episodes, with the first two debuting on July 9 and the remaining six releasing on July 16. The cast includes Jennifer Garner as Hollis, plus Chloë Sevigny, Gemma Chan, Regina Hall and D'Arcy Carden as her four friends.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”