Friendship Development

The hamster wheel stops, and it suddenly becomes clear: Much of your life has played out directly from how you think. What and how you think literally steer your boat, from your marriage to your finances; from your career to your happiness. This is great news! It’s the best breakthrough since sliced bread! This knowledge is power.

When celebrated and respected agent Fritz Hudson passes away, he leaves a trail of Hollywood glory in his wake - and two separate families who never knew the other existed. Allie and Des Hudson are products of Fritz's first marriage to Honora, a beautiful but troubled starlet whose life ended in a tragic overdose. Meanwhile, Fritz was falling in love on the Delaware Bay with New Age hippie Susa Pratt - they had a daughter together, Cara, and while Fritz loved Susa with everything he had, he never quite managed to tell her or Cara about his West Coast family.

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.

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.

Four years before Nina Totenberg was hired at NPR, where she cemented her legacy as a prizewinning reporter, and nearly twenty-two years before Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court, Nina called Ruth. A reporter for The National Observer, Nina was curious about Ruth’s legal brief, asking the Supreme Court to do something revolutionary: declare a law that discriminated “on the basis of sex” to be unconstitutional. That call launched a remarkable, nearly fifty-year friendship.

Whether you're seeking deeper intimacy, struggling with patterns of insecurity, or simply curious about why you love the way you do, this book offers insights that are both enlightening and transformative. Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, and real-life stories, Anxious Heart, Secure Soul unravels the complexities of attachment theory in a way that’s accessible, compassionate, and refreshingly practical. Discover how attachment styles—such as anxious, avoidant, and secure—shape our reactions, our emotional needs, and even the types of partners we attract.

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.

By the time Will Schwalbe was a junior at college, he had already met everyone he cared to know: the theater people, writers, visual artists and comp lit majors, and various other quirky characters including the handful of students who shared his own major, Latin and Greek. He also knew exactly who he wanted to avoid: the jocks. The jocks wore baseball caps and moved in packs, filling boisterous tables in the dining hall, and on the whole seemed to be another species entirely, one Will might encounter only at his own peril.

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?

After becoming trapped in present-day Bath due to a mishap with her time-traveling charm, Jane Austen is safe and sound back in the 1800s thanks to Rose Wallace’s help. Now, Rose is ready to focus on her fledgling romance with dreamy Dr. Aiden Trevellyan. But when Jane reappears in the present, it looks like Rose and Aiden have no choice but to follow her back to 1813....

In a shallow light-speed world, how can we really know and be known by another person? How do we make true friends? The Digital Age is all about change, but the need for true friendship never changes. We are designed for real engagement with others - for affirmation that goes beyond a simple "like" on social media, for connection over meals, for hope and excitement about the future. Above all, we need to be known and accepted for who we are.

Have you ever had a friend in your life that caused you more misery than happiness? Maybe this friend is constantly asking to borrow your things. They tell you that it’ll just be one time, except that it’s not. It’s several times. And then your friend ends up needing more than just your time. It turns into your finances, your personal objects, and your obligations outside of the time that you spend with them. But you assure yourself that things will change.

In this wise and insightful audiobook, psychologist Michael Thompson, PhD, and children's book author Catherine O'Neill Grace illuminate the crucial and often hidden role that friendship plays in the lives of children from birth through adolescence. Best Friends, Worst Enemies brings to life the drama of childhood relationships, guiding parents to a deeper understanding of the motives and meanings of social behavior.

When Rachel Bertsche first moves to Chicago, she’s thrilled to finally share a zip code, let alone an apartment, with her boyfriend. But shortly after getting married, Bertsche realizes that her new life is missing one thing: friends. Sure, she has plenty of BFFs—in New York and San Francisco and Boston and Washington, D.C. Still, in her adopted hometown, there’s no one to call at the last minute for girl talk over brunch or a reality-TV marathon over a bottle of wine. Taking matters into her own hands, Bertsche develops a plan....

Research shows that people cannot reach their full potential unless they are in healthy connection with others. Dr. Amy Banks teaches us how to rewire our brains for healthier relationships and happier, more fulfilling lives. This groundbreaking book gives listeners the tools they need to strengthen the parts of their brain that encourage connection and to heal the neural damage that disconnection can cause.

Although Paul Auster and J. M. Coetzee had been reading each other’s books for years, the two writers did not meet until February 2008. Not long after, Auster received a letter from Coetzee, suggesting they begin exchanging letters on a regular basis and, “God willing, strike sparks off each other.” Here and Now is the result of that proposal: the epistolary dialogue between two great writers who became great friends. Over three years their letters touched on nearly every subject, from sports to fatherhood, film festivals to incest, philosophy to politics....

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.

Small changes for big results in your social life, presence, and relationships. Learn how to be captivating, memorable, and magnetic. Likability is one of the most important traits you’ll ever learn. It’s more important than your intelligence, looks, status, wealth, prestige, or education. Likability is the true currency of life. Do you seem to fade from people’s memory as soon as the conversation ends? Banish those feelings of rejection and dejection.

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!

When Max Dickins decided to propose to his girlfriend, he realised there was no one he could call on to be his best man. He quickly learned that that he wasn’t the only man struggling with friendships. For decades, countless studies from across the world have confirmed that men have fewer close friends than women–and the problem gets worse the older men get. But what goes wrong? And what can men do about it? Dickins is going to find out. His funny and charmingly candid search takes him to the doors of world-leading experts.