Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict

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As such, everything is couched in the author's own experience and most topics are presented as the author trying to sort out a problem in her life.

Nor does it reveal her astonishing, self-effacing honesty about her own shortcomings, past and present, in dealing with her relationships. A journalist, broadcaster and bestselling author, Elizabeth Day’s works include the novels Paper, Scissors, Home Fires, Paradise City and The Party. The discussions talk about the complications involved in being the only black friend to a white person etc and sadly its place in the book feels very much like the tokenism that Day and Sharmaine are trying to fight. The title makes more sense after reading it, she’s very open about her need for friendships… and I understand it’s a confessional; but I think she missed the opportunity to put herself in other people’s shoes and help those that have no friends, or struggle to make/maintain deep friendships. I felt it as a symbolic gesture that marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new one, that is now forever imprinted in my memory, heart and soul.Based on the number of times I had to pause because of the tears streaming from my eyes, I think it must be. The second half of Friendaholic descends into women's-magazine-style puff (some people say social media makes them feel lonely, while others find it a useful way to keep in touch! I saw myself in so much of this book and in some ways it helped me to both cherish what I have in my immediate three best friends (three!

Its first few chapters are its strongest, as Elizabeth Day recounts various friendships in her life (the childhood friend, the college friend, the frienemy, the date who turned into a friend). Elizabeth approaches everything she does with such thoughtfulness - I love her podcast and other books - and this is no exception.My cleverest friend thinks you should cultivate loads of them, do all the emotional stuff on sosh media and throw one party a year to control the spend. I'm just not sure Day's experiences of friendship are representative of the core experience for most people.

Given that science is used as seasoning it shouldn't be surprising that there is little rigor cast over the facts chosen to support or prompt Day's positions. There are sprinklings of unconnected “Friendship Tapes” from individuals about what friendship means to them that break up each chapter beautifully.

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She briefly pokes fun at the bromance, and goes on to say that the decrease in military participation has robbed men of the ability to have close physical relationships with other men. It is a reflection of her connection to her friends, a compilation of studies of relationships throughout history. I really relate to being younger and wanting everyone to like me, I was a chronic people pleaser for sure. But, as Day explains in this admirably candid and well-crafted book, there is nothing more soul-sapping than clinging to a friendship with someone just because 20 years earlier you sweated in the same spin class.Friendaholic is a perfect example of the right book at the right time, I read this 2 weeks before leaving all of my friends and moving to another country and as such found great solace in the reading experience. I have to say, personally, this chapter made me grateful for the fact that my friends with children don’t make me schlep over to them every, single time. I turn to psychologist and professor Paul Wright to sum up the main difference between male and female friendships. Which gets at the other big limitation of the book for me, the outright dismissal of male-to-male friendships.