Friendaholic
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3.7 • 29 Ratings
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- £12.99
Publisher Description
THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
‘Bravely revealing’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO
‘Funny, moving, helpful and true, Friendaholic deserves a massive audience’ SATHNAM SANGHERA
‘This book is brilliant’ JO ELVIN
‘Essential reading… admirably candid and well-crafted’ GUARDIAN
As a society, there is a tendency to elevate romantic love. But what about friendships? Aren't they just as – if not more – important? So why is it hard to find the right words to express what these uniquely complex bonds mean to us? In Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict, Elizabeth Day embarks on a journey to answer these questions.
Growing up, Elizabeth wanted to make everyone like her. Lacking friends at school, she grew up to believe that quantity equalled quality. Having lots of friends meant you were loved, popular and safe. She was determined to become a Good Friend. And, in many ways, she did. But in adulthood she slowly realised that it was often to the detriment of her own boundaries and mental health.
Then, when a global pandemic hit in 2020, she was one of many who were forced to reassess what friendship really meant to them – with the crisis came a dawning realisation: her truest friends were not always the ones she had been spending most time with. Why was this? Could she rebalance it? Was there such thing as…too many friends? And was she really the friend she thought she was?
Friendaholic unpacks the significance and evolution of friendship. From exploring her own personal friendships and the distinct importance of each of them in her life, to the unique and powerful insights of others across the globe, Elizabeth asks why there isn’t yet a language that can express its crucial influence on our world.
From ghosting and frenemies to social media and seismic life events, Elizabeth leaves no stone unturned. Friendaholic is the book you buy for the people you love but it's also the book you read to become a better friend to yourself.
About the author
Elizabeth Day is the author of five novels and three works of non-fiction, including her Sunday Times bestselling novel Magpie, and hit memoir How to Fail. She is the creator and host of the chart-topping podcast How To Fail With Elizabeth Day. Friendaholic is her ninth book.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
What initially sounds like a humble-brag—the London journalist, author and creator of the How to Fail podcast has too many pals, poor thing—transpires to be a thoughtful rumination of the nature of modern friendships. The problem, says Elizabeth Day, is that there are no official rules of engagement and everyone has their own take on what being a good friend entails. Day writes forthrightly about her own travails—what it’s like when all your friends start having children except you, ditching toxic friends, the impact of lockdown. She also wisely gives space to a clutch of others to talk about their own platonic bonds, from a primary school pupil to a terminally ill octogenarian.
Customer Reviews
Everyone should read this
This book is the manual for friendship, relationships and family dynamics that I wish I’d had years ago. I’ve fumbled my way through friendships into my thirties, toxic friendships I’ve entertained for far too long, guilt I’ve internalised over not being a good enough friend and the juggling, the endless JUGGLING of being spreading myself to thinly leaving far too little for myself. I’ve sent it to everyone I know, it’s mind-blowingly inciteful
Beautifully wise
I laughed, I cried, I binge read (binge listened to the audiobook) - would highly recommend for everyone. I’ve learn so much about myself and my friendships and have unexpectedly healed old wounds (the ghosting chapter was amazing).