The Friendship Crisis ~ Paperback ~ Marla Paul

Finding friends was as effortless as breathing when we were kids - they slid into the seat next to us in class or lived across the street. Making friends as adults, however, can challenge even the most gregarious of women. They're shocked to discover how hard it is and secretly fear they're the only ones having a problem. But they're not. For many midlife women today, traditional social ties have been frayed or torn by such common life-changing shifts as: moving to a new town; leaving a communal office to start a home-based business; becoming an at-home mom; being divorced or widowed. "The Friendship Crisis" provides women with a pathway out of isolation and into the warm embrace of friendship. Written in a lively, conversational style, it brings together the author's own experiences, profiles of women who managed to forge satisfying new connections at various stages of life, and the insights of psychologist and other relationship experts. In candid, resonant stories, women describe the strategies they used to overcome shyness and fear and take the first steps toward building a friendship - including tips for turning casual ties with acquaintances into lasting bonds of friendship and innovative 'ways to meet people with similar interests, schedules, or needs, both on-line and off. Paul also discusses the dos and don'ts of friendship, from how to be an enthusiastic friend without being overly aggressive or needy to accepting a pal's limitations, healing conflicts, and establishing a rhythm both friends find satisfying and comfortable.Author BiographyMARLA PAUL, a freelance journalist who has written for such publications as The Washington Post, Family Circle, and Ladies' Home Journal, writes a column on friendship for a nationally syndicated section of the Chicago Tribune. She lives in the Chicago area.