Is BK the only way for me?

Hello. I have a company which is inactive at this moment. Final Tax return was filed this summer. I was stupid enough to sign personal guarantee for bank lines of credit and business credit cards. Actually it was for my friend, who used this money to buy condos in Florida (foreclosure right now), open his own business (a mortgage company). He used to make monthly payments until March of this year. Now these loans are in default and over 120 days late, some of them are in collection. My credit history is ruined. There is Amex cc which is trying to collect from me. I was told that the only way is to file Chapter 7. I don???t want to do that. I don???t want to loose my house. I didn???t spend this money. I was just nice and stupid.
My question is: is there any way to avoid the filing? How can I make my ???friend??? be responsible for these debts?