The cultural perception of what a best friend was, and how many one should have, varied across countries.

In summary, you’ll end up wanting to be Elizabeth’s friend, but also being okay with the fact that that’s not going to happen. Sinto que estamos finalmente a perceber que nem todo o amor é romântico e que as relações platónicas tem um peso igual ou maior na nossa vida. When one is longing for a family, the effect is profound, it can be hard to be around children, when you’re grieving for something. As a journalist, she has written extensively across many titles, including T he Observer, The Times, the Guardian, New York Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Grazia and Elle .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! This is a very personal and relatable account of cultivating and maintaining friendships throughout challenging times and phases of life - not always a smooth or rewarding process, which will resonate with many readers, as with myself. In India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, people reported having three times the number of best friends as those in Australia, Europe and the US. 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. This male friend of hers who is the chosen expert on male friendship despite not having any says he's the type of guy who hates a stag do.

Unfortunately, for me, the book is most interesting where it is least like a confessional and most like a scientific exploration of friendship. I couldn’t take much from it as most of the case studies seem to be about the author feeling overwhelmed by keeping up with friends (which isn’t the case with me! An insight into Elizabeth Day’s experience of friendship, Friendaholic should be on every woman’s to read list.I love delving into the discussion of any sort of relationships, so this definitely ticked that box! From the journalist and author of How to Fail comes a disarmingly honest and perceptive investigation into the nature of friendship, prompted by Day's lockdown reassessment of her need for a large group of companions.

I saw Elizabeth Day at a book event recently talking about this book, which I'd previously heard of but wasn't sure if I would pick up.Friendship, particularly from a woman's perspective, is a fascinating relationship dynamic and as many of us have, I've been through a journey as I get older on how I value or measure friendship. I was really excited to read this as I thought it would help me be a better friend and strengthen friendships. Because, like Day, I see being a good friend as involving always being there, regardless of how I’m feeling. There are sprinklings of unconnected “Friendship Tapes” from individuals about what friendship means to them that break up each chapter beautifully.