We live in a society that heroises romantic love over platonic love. Just look at the language we have for each stage: from seeing each other to dating, to getting engaged and married. We even have multiple options for fuck buddies, non-exclusive, no strings attached, friends with benefits or a casual relationship. Yet research shows that a person will have on average seven to ten romantic relationships in their lifetime and twenty-nine friends - so why is it that the conversation on love is far greater than the conversation on friendship?
When only six of these friendships will stand the test of time, this means that the average person will experience the ending of twenty-three friendships in their lifetime - that's three times the amount of romantic breakups. Despite this, friendship break-ups remain a taboo.
As someone who has gone through a dozen friendship breakups, life coach, broadcaster and public speaker Michelle Elman 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 break up, have one too many and society starts questioning 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 will remove the stigma from friendships breakups, sparking a much-needed conversation and making us question everything we have been taught about them. This is the book for anyone who has ever been hurt by a friend but it's also the book to reassure you that you're not a bad friend.