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Best Friends: The Pleasures and Perils of Girls' and Women's Friendships
Best Friends provides the missing link to understanding and recognizing the impact of some of the most important relationships in girls' and women's lives.
Every woman remembers the sting of betrayal of a girlfriend, and every parent of a daughter has seen her come home from school in tears because a girl she thought was her best friend suddenly and inexplicably became her enemy. While boys hash out differences with fists and kicks, girls' societies are marked by secrets and whispers and shifting affection. The lessons learned as an adolescent girl are often carried into adulthood, making women fear confrontation--especially with other women. But the intensity of the struggles reflects the support and healing to be found within these friendships. Girls find themselves in the mirror of other girls, hence the power each has to influence the other.
Ruthellen Josselson and Terri Apter's many years of working with hundreds of girls and women have given them insight into the emotionally important relationships that are integral to a girl's self-image. Best Friends explores the bonds of friendship between girls and between women and the sorrows and joys they experience together, from early adolescence and throughout their lives.
Every woman remembers the sting of betrayal of a girlfriend, and every parent of a daughter has seen her come home from school in tears because a girl she thought was her best friend suddenly and inexplicably became her enemy. While boys hash out differences with fists and kicks, girls' societies are marked by secrets and whispers and shifting affection. The lessons learned as an adolescent girl are often carried into adulthood, making women fear confrontation--especially with other women. But the intensity of the struggles reflects the support and healing to be found within these friendships. Girls find themselves in the mirror of other girls, hence the power each has to influence the other.
Ruthellen Josselson and Terri Apter's many years of working with hundreds of girls and women have given them insight into the emotionally important relationships that are integral to a girl's self-image. Best Friends explores the bonds of friendship between girls and between women and the sorrows and joys they experience together, from early adolescence and throughout their lives.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 20, 2021
Recovering the value of connection among women and making it real
As we continue to expand our knowledge on how women can flourish through their inclusion in an equitable world the topic of female friendships is more relevant than ever.
Understanding how important are friends for a woman’s understanding of her self
And even building of it! Also how important it is (preventing today’s maladies such as depression) to work on our friendships and keep them real, and alive.
Bottom line: women need women friends and we need to acknowledge the idealization creates disharmony and only through radical acceptance can we continue to learn and grow together
MUST read on women development !
As we continue to expand our knowledge on how women can flourish through their inclusion in an equitable world the topic of female friendships is more relevant than ever.
Understanding how important are friends for a woman’s understanding of her self
And even building of it! Also how important it is (preventing today’s maladies such as depression) to work on our friendships and keep them real, and alive.
Bottom line: women need women friends and we need to acknowledge the idealization creates disharmony and only through radical acceptance can we continue to learn and grow together
MUST read on women development !
January 11, 2014
I really enjoyed the first half, started to become a bit bored in the middle, but regained interest in the last couple chapters. Overall I liked it a lot.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews