When I call Fredrik Backman from halfway across the world – he in his Stockholm apartment, me in my New York one – he says something I don’t expect.

‘My Friends' by Fredrik Backman Known for his poignant books like Beartown and A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman's new novel is about the power of true friendship. There is a famous work of art ...

AILSA CHANG, HOST: A year ago, bestselling Swedish writer Fredrik Backman stood in front of a massive audience so terrified, he was convinced he was having a heart attack. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED ...

Backman knows he’s privileged to write full time, telling me about “proper jobs” he’s had operating forklifts for 10-12 hours a day, waking up so sore he couldn’t extend his fingers.

Bestselling Swedish writer Fredrik Backman says he never struggled with his confidence as much as he did writing his new book, My Friends. In fact, he was seriously considering retiring.

Fredrik Backman wrote ‘My Friends’ for the young dreamers If “My Friends” was his last book, Backman tells me, what would he want to say? The story is told in two alternating timelines.