Friendship Development

In spite of the hyper-connected culture we live in today, women still feel shamed for oversharing and being publicly vulnerable. And no matter how many friends we seem to have, many of us are still desperately lonely. Laura Tremaine, blogger and podcaster behind 10 Things to Tell You, says it's time for something better. Openness and vulnerability are the foundation for human growth and healthy relationships, and it all starts when we share our stuff, the nitty-gritty daily details about ourselves with others.

In 2018 poet and author Michael Pedersen lost a cherished friend, Scott Hutchison, soon after their collective voyage into the landscape of the Scottish Highlands. Just weeks later, Michael began to write to him. As he confronts the bewildering process of grief, what starts as a love letter to one magical, coruscating human soon becomes a paean to all the gorgeous male friendships that have transformed his life.

How do some people end up with friends anywhere they go and make amazing impressions on everyone? What really makes people connect, open up, and just...click with others? It's something we never learn in school...a shame because connecting instantly with others just might be the most important skill you'll ever learn. The first minute of an interaction is the gatekeeper of friendship and relationships.

We know that our friendships increase our happiness, our health, and our longevity, yet people in the US have fewer close confidantes today than we did three decades ago. Even though there’s a huge amount of information in the media discussing these relationships, and our social media feeds run 24/7, most of us haven’t come up with a constructive approach to friendship. But learning to be a better friend is the first step to acquiring and cultivating better, more rewarding friendships.

Women long for deep and lasting friendships but often find them challenging to make. The private angst they feel regarding friendship often translates into their own insecurity and isolation. Christine Hoover offers women a fresh, biblical vision for friendship that allows for the messiness of our lives and the realities of our schedules.

When journalist Isabel Vincent befriends Edward, both are at a crossroads: He wants to follow his late wife to the grave, and she is ready to give up on love. Isabel's friend, Edward's daughter, lives far away and has asked Isabel to check in on her dad in New York. At first Isabel is just doing her duty. But soon this charming, elegant, cultured man has become her dear friend. She gives him a reason to go on without his beloved wife of 72 years, and he gives her a renewed faith that happiness is possible.

Are you consumed with a busy life but unsure how to slow down? Do you desire connection within your community and think, Absolutely, but I don't have time for that or I can't create that? What if there was another way through it all, a way to find those moments of peace and to create a time for honest, comfortable connection? What if meeting neighbors and connecting with friends was as simple as showing up and being available?

What if you weren't the only guy that had trouble finding quality guy friends? And keeping them in your life? More than likely, you're not. Heterosexual males today are the loneliest demographic. Tragically, they are the ones that would benefit the most from friendship as they suffer from higher cases of depression and suicide. But isn't it just so awkward to go talk to another guy you don't know and try to be his friend? This audiobook will show you how to fill this void in your life without awkwardness, looking silly, feeling gay, or embarrassing yourself.

From behavioral scientists to besties, Kate draws upon the extraordinary research from academics, scientists, and psychotherapists, and stories from friends of friends, strangers from the Internet, and her “squad” to get to the bottom of these and other facets of friendship. For fans of Susan Cain’s Quiet and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, The Friendship Cure is a fascinating blend of accessible “smart thinking,” investigative journalism, pop culture, and memoir for anyone trying to navigate this lonely world, written with the wit, charm, and bite of a fresh voice.

In this zippy listen packed with true-life stories, Jen Nash explains how the opportunity to connect is everywhere and how we can get more than we ever dreamed of out of life if we make the effort to lean in and say hello. Whether you want to go to more parties, get a better job, make more money, or be a better person—listening to this book can give you practical strategies for doing it all. A happier, more successful, and more fulfilling life is within your reach, and The Big Power of Tiny Connections will show you the way.

From the Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist, a gripping exploration of class, race, friendship, sexuality, what an author owes her subject and what it means to be a good person—all wrapped up in a riveting Canadian true crime story.

Oh no, it’s happened again. You just spoke your mind, acted like yourself, and the other person either looks at you strangely or they awkwardly turn the other way. You try to dispel the awkwardness by making sure the next thing you say or do is something they find acceptable, but nothing comes. Don’t worry. We’ve all been there.

Discover the key to building genuine connections, expanding your social circle, and transforming your social life in this game-changing audiobook! Are you an introvert struggling to express yourself authentically in social settings? Do you yearn to break free from the confines of your shell and develop the skills to connect with anyone? Are you ready to cultivate real friendships, influence others positively, and create a vibrant social life that brings you joy and fulfillment? Rest assured, this audiobook knows your struggles and equips you with the necessary tools for social success!

Based on the column of the same name that appeared in The Toast, Hey Ladies! is a laugh-out-loud listen that follows a fictitious group of eight 20- and-30-something female friends for one year of holidays, summer house rentals, dates, brunches, breakups, and, of course, the planning of a disastrous wedding. This instantly relatable story is told entirely through emails, texts, DMs, and every other form of communication known to man.

Temple Grandin is the most famous person with autism in the world. Whether you know her from the HBO movie Temple Grandin, her decades of work in the meat and cattle industry, or her unmatched contribution to the autism world, surely you know a thing or two about Temple. Well, prepare to meet a whole new side of her! Temple's close friend and author, Anita Lesko, conducts personal and unique interviews.

The Good Girl's Guide to Being a D*ck will teach you how to embrace your inner jerk, guiding you through who and what to get rid of from your life, stop worrying about what others think, and how the seemingly small things in life can have a huge impact on the quality of your everyday living. You'll learn how to embrace your own needs and desires to live the life you've always wanted.

If you are eager to discover how to gather and cultivate more quality relationships and less troubled ones, this book has answers. It provides insight, skills, research, and tools to become a next level human and build a next level tribe. The people in our lives determine the quality of our lives. This book is all about learning to find new relationships, discard unhelpful ones, and turn the important, but challenging ones, into our greatest friendships.

In Just Show Up, Kara and her close friend, Jill Lynn Buteyn, write about what friendship looks like in the midst of changing life seasons, loads of laundry, and even cancer. Whether you are eager to be present to someone going through a difficult time or simply want inspiration for pursuing friends in a new way, this eloquent and practical audiobook explores the gift of silence, the art of receiving, and what it means to just show up.

I am floating in the middle of the night, and nobody in the world even knows I am missing. Nobody is looking for me. You can't get more alone than that. You can't be more lost. I've got too many people who love me. There's no way I'm dying like this. In the dead of night on July 24, 2013, John Aldridge was thrown off the back of the Anna Mary while his fishing partner, Anthony Sosinski, slept below. As desperate hours ticked by, Sosinski, the families, the local fishing community, and the US Coast Guard in three states mobilized in an unprecedented search effort.

In a world that often feels more connected yet increasingly isolated, true friendships can feel hard to find. Mastering Friendship is your guide to cultivating meaningful connections and creating the tribe that lifts you up. Whether you're looking to build new friendships, strengthen existing ones, or shift your mindset to embrace connection, this book gives you the practical tools and insights to make it happen.