Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are by Carlin Flora
I found this book very interesting. There are lots of books about relationship and family interactions, but not so many about friends. Flora shows that studies document that friends usually have a greater influence on our lives than these other relationships. She covers this research, showing the influence that friendships have whether they continue frequent contact or not, whether they are close geographically or not. She also covers how we make friends, analyzing the different elements that friendships are based on. There are sections for childhood friendships and teen friendships, the good things that come with friendships and the bad, There is also a chapter on virtual friendship, a trend that is becoming more common.
I am a person who doesn't have a lot of friends, and I started thinking about the reasons for this. During my youth, my family moved around a fair bit, so while I made friends, I usually lost touch with them after I moved away. And I never had a lot of friends, always just a couple at a time. Lately most of my friends have been people I have worked with, which in many ways are different kinds of friendship than people you share more down time interests with. At the point I am at in my life right now, I honestly couldn't name a "best friend". This is something I will be thinking about and looking at how I spend my non-work hours to make time for potential friends, or to spend time with the more casual friends I have now.
I always like a book that gets me thinking, especially when I am thinking about changing my life in positive ways.
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