How to Be a Bad Friend: The Hidden Life of Failed Relationships

We all want good friends and to be good friends, but what does that mean when things go wrong or we don’t feel like we can show up well? What happens when we lose the people we thought would be there when we needed them most? And why does a friend breakup often hurt more than a romantic one? The answers to these questions are found in the pages of How to Be a Bad Friend by inviting you to explore your own friendship stories. Under the surface, we're all seeking a way to make sure our connections with others stay (or end) well, even when things are falling apart. The reality is, losing a friend spells out loss on top of loss, because the person we would have talked with about whatever went down is someone who is no longer speaking to us anymore. How to Be a Bad Friend exists because there is a lack of language and community around the subject of tension or conflict in friendship and what happens after we have been rejected entirely. Friend breakups are so painful, and from an outsider’s perspective often treated as shameful, that we are left with nowhere to turn, no way to heal. The work of creating a world where we can talk about friendship failures and friend breakups without shame is long and slow. But regardless of whether we are the friend who is labeled good, bad, toxic, dramatic, difficult, or unhealthy, friendship is a place where we can be wounded more deeply or live more fully than we ever believed possible. And each new connection—lost or found— is another doorway to some place in our stories asking to be listened to. Instead of trying to be better, or best friends . . . what if the freedom we’re looking for in friendship is found in the ways we have failed each other and learning, instead, how to be a bad friend?
ASIN: B0C1J9F5PQ
VSKU: DBV.B0C1J9F5PQ.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Sleadd, Katherine
Binding: Paperback
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting or writing, but the text remains fully legible. Dust jacket may be missing, and supplemental materials like CDs or codes may not be included. May be ex-library with library markings. Ships promptly!