Sep 8, 2022
What was
the most painful breakup of your life? Was it a romantic
relationship or was it a friendship? Certainly for me both rank
pretty highly in terms of sucker punches in my history.
On today's show, Claire Cohen, author of
BFF? The Truth About Female Friendship suggests that from
infancy we are fed a diet of 'Best Friends Forever' - the idea that
you should have a female soulmate to whom you tell all your secrets
and who always has your back. A myth she tells me that she wants to
bust. She's coined a new term: BBFN - best friends for
now.
Rather than spending years striving for a vision of female friendship that isn't realistic, she has spoken to dozens of experts and suggests we look for what suits us best and appreciating what we've already got.
Claire also explores toxic friendships and how to figure out if
you're in one;
competition within a friendship being the last
taboo and how to pay it forward if your friendship plate is
full.
Finally she encourages us to celebrate and show some love to those
longlasting friendships that have stood the test of
time.
For
Emmeline's bookshelf she recommends:
Bess Kalb's
Nobody Will Tell You This But Me.A brilliantly original memoir
of a grandmother speaking to her granddaughter from beyond the
grave, telling the story of her life with hilarious candor and
love.