Friendship Development

As an awkward high schooler, Wednesday struggled to find her place in Grand Rapids. Until a handsome senior encouraged her to believe how talented, smart, and wonderfully different she was. Naturally, Wednesday fell for him...He was falling, too. For another boy. Yet this one-sided crush proved life altering, paving the way for a string of “boyfriends” who offered Wednesday something deeper than physical connection.

Move over idealised BFFs, glossy gal pals and indestructible work wives. Meet the bad friends. The dangerously romantic school girls of the 1900s. The office gossips of the 1930s. The mum cliques of the 1950s. The angry activists of the 1970s. The coven – women who choose to live together in old age – of the present day. These ‘bad’ friends broke the rules about femininity they didn’t write. Their relationships were controlled, patrolled and judged too intimate, too consuming and in some cases, too powerful.

For too long, women have been told that we are terrible at being friends, that we can't help being cruel or competitive, or that we inevitably abandon each other for romantic partners. But we are rejecting those stereotypes and reclaiming the power of female friendship. In Text Me When You Get Home, journalist Kayleen Schaefer interviews more than 100 women about their BFFs, soul mates, girl gangs, and queens while tracing this cultural shift through the lens of pop culture.

Skip the small talk and learn how to build a supportive community, engage with new people, and cultivate authentic, long-lasting friendships at every stage of life. It sometimes seems like everyone has a big, happy, fulfilling social life, full of lifelong friendships...except you. As we grow older and school friendships fade, it can be difficult to meet new people and cultivate meaningful friendships. How do you strike up a conversation with a stranger? How do you move from mutual acquaintances to real friends?

When Jonell McLain saw the diamond necklace in the store window, it aroused first desire, then a provocative question: Why are personal luxuries so plentiful, yet accessible to so few? What if we shared what we desired? A dozen phone calls and a leap of faith later, Jonell bought the necklace with 12 other women, with the goal of sharing it.

John Feinstein - The Friends I've Made provides a compelling view of sports and life from the incomparable perspective and recall of multiple New York Times best-selling author John Feinstein and five individuals who John has covered, followed and now considers friends: David Feherty, Tom Izzo, Steve Kerr, Mary Carillo, and Mike Krzyzewski.

You are meant to be in relationships that bring joy and connection—that help you know soul-deep peace and leave you feeling loved instead of lonely. Instead, surface-level friendships, filtered social media feeds, unresolved conflicts, and unhealthy relationships can often seem to harm our self-worth, spiritual growth, and mental health—and keep us from the very relationships that could bring that true connection.

Inspirational words on parenting from the beloved Fred Rogers, showing appreciation for parents whose children are grown as well as giving advice to those parents raising young ones.

Take a Shot! is the incredible true story of how three unlikely partners broke all the rules and beat all the odds to create Major League Lacrosse. This book will take you on a roller-coaster ride through the ups and downs of starting a business - and not just any business, but a professional sports league built around America’s oldest and most tradition-bound game. Today, Major League Lacrosse is entering its 12th season, and the sport has exploded into the fastest-growing game in the U.S. But it wasn’t always that way... not even close.

Many of us wish to share a meal, share our faith, and share our lives with others. We want to open our home to friends and neighbors for the sake of meaningful community, but we're overwhelmed with hospitality hang-ups. Our welcome has been influenced by the messages of the world that tell us hospitality is about our ability to be, host, live, and cook a certain way. In Gather & Give, Amy Hannon inspires you to embrace the simple hospitality of the Bible that values connection more than perfection and people more than presentation.

In a world where women can unfriend each other with the swipe of a finger, how do we find friendships that we can trust to last? Maybe by first becoming those kinds of lasting friends ourselves. As the community manager at the website incourage.me since 2010, Lisa-Jo Baker has had the chance to engage hundreds of conversations with women about friendship. She's learned that no one can make us quite as unsure about ourselves as another woman. And nothing can wound as deeply as unkind words from a friend.

In this book, we’ll dive into the nuances of building and strengthening love that’s rooted in friendship. Each chapter is packed with insights, practical strategies, and relatable stories to help you navigate this sometimes-complex journey.

Highly Productive Teens With MAD Social Skills is book 1 of a 5-book series. This first volume of the series covers the social skills aspect that will empower your teen to succeed while promoting effective teaching of social and communication. Beautifully written with a warm and authentic style, inside this practical blueprint for teens, you'll uncover a rich collection of life-changing strategies and advice to help teenagers thrive emotionally, socially, and beyond.

It’s been six years since Pen Calloway watched her best friends walk out of her life. And through the birth of her daughter, the death of her father, and the vicissitudes of single motherhood, she has never stopped missing them. Pen, Cat, and Will met on their first day of college and formed what seemed like a magical and lifelong bond, only to see their friendship break apart amid the realities of adulthood. When, after years of silence, Cat - the bewitching, charismatic center of their group - e-mails Pen and Will with an urgent request to meet at their college reunion, they can’t refuse.

In a time when so many suffer from isolation and it feels like developing authentic relationships and true belonging is harder than ever, Chris and Julie Bennett invite you into their story to discover why we were meant for togetherness and why it's worth facing any amount of hardship to keep our faith, families, and communities at the center of who we are.

Pat Conroy was America's poet laureate of family dysfunction. A larger-than-life character and the author of such classics as The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, Conroy was remembered by everybody for his energy, his exuberance, and his self-lacerating humor. Michael Mewshaw's The Lost Prince is an intimate memoir of his friendship with Pat Conroy, one that involves their families and those days in Rome when they were both young - when Conroy went from being a popular regional writer to an internationally best-selling author.

Whether your child has only been recently diagnosed with ADHD or you’ve been living with their condition for quite a while, it’s normal for parents to feel worried, overwhelmed, and exhausted most of the time. However, keep in mind that ADHD is a condition, not a life sentence. It’s entirely possible for your young one to succeed because of their condition–not despite it. The key is learning how to address your child’s condition properly and consistently at the soonest time possible–the earlier you manage it, the higher their chances of success and happiness.

Rachel feels like she doesn't fit in - until she finds heavy metal and meets Fern, a kindred spirit. The two form their own band, but the metal scene turns out to be no different from the misogynist world they want to change. Violent encounters escalate, and the friends decide there's only one way forward....

You meet - and there's a spark. You want to know everything about each other. You spill your secrets, you spend all weekend together, you go on holiday. You fight and it's gut-wrenching. You see each other through the worst times and the best. You know each other better than parents, siblings, lovers. You stay in touch when miles apart. You will always be there. This is the most important relationship of your life. This is your 'Big Friendship'.

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.