Friendship First

**Journalist Gyan Yankovich explores the value of platonic friendship, offering a new model for the essential role that friendships have in determining our happiness **

Voice memos, care packages, hours-long phone conversations, treasured traditions that go back decades—our friendships touch and enrich every part of our lives. But in a world that’s pushing us to constantly improve our romantic relationships—and work to understand our familial ones—we rarely stop and think about “just” friendship, even as science tells us that good platonic friendships enrich (and can even lengthen) our lives.

Enter Friendship First —finally, a book not so much about making friends as letting our actions in our friendships reflect their vital importance. In her trademark chic style that is refreshingly down to earth and packed with insight, Gyan Yankovich argues for the importance of friendship in the modern world, addressing topics such as showing up for friends in need, asking friends for help, integrating friends into our support system, and dealing with friendship breakups when things go wrong.

It's no secret that we’re living in lonely times. But the personal stories and scientific evidence in Friendship First offer a roadmap to a happier life by helping us find our way back to those who matter most.