Bad Friend

We live in a society that heroises romantic love over platonic love, yet despite attempts to revolutionise Valentines to Galentines and even Malentines, we still prioritise romantic relationships over friendships. Just look at the language we have for each stage: from seeing each other to dating, committing to one another to getting engaged and married. We even have multiple options for the same meaning, whether it's fuck buddies, non-exclusive, no strings attached, friends with benefits, or a casual relationship. But when a person will have, on average, seven to ten romantic relationships in their lifetime and twenty-nine friends, why is the conversation on love far greater than the conversation on friendship? And when only six of these friendships will stand the test of time, the average person will experience the ending of twenty-three friendships in their lifetime — that's three times the number of romantic breakups.

As someone who has gone through a dozen friendship breakups, Michelle began to think she was a bad friend. She grieved in silence, shrouded by shame and secrecy, because when society doesn't make room for a conversation about friendship breakups, you learn not to either. Just like a romantic breakup, have one too many and society starts poking flaws in why your relationships keep ending. But what if you aren't the problem? What if the problem is the way we think about friendship breakups?

Bad Friend removes the stigma from friendship breakups. It sparks a much-needed conversation around friendships, making us question everything we have been taught about them. It helps readers identify what they're looking for in a friendship, explores friendship during life changes, helps readers heal from fractures in friendships, and provides advice on how to end a friendship, rules for better friendships, and how to make new friends.

Bad Friend is the book for anyone who has ever been hurt by a friend, but it's also the book to read to know that you are not one.