The Company We Keep: Friendship, Connection, and Redefining What It Means to Grow Together

Friendships fracture when personal growth leaves people with mismatched emotional capacities, values, and expectations, contends bestseller and wellness educator Elle (How We Heal) in this competent guide. She argues that such misalignment leads to resentment and misunderstanding, particularly when one party prioritizes harmony over honesty. Drawing on personal anecdotes and client stories from her coaching practice, she walks readers through the process of taking “emotional inventory” of which relationships “support us in healthy, meaningful ways,” clearly expressing one’s emotional needs to oneself and others, and setting boundaries when one needs “to take a step back.” Also discussed is the difficult process of cutting things off with friends when the relationship costs too much, and asking for space. While the author’s focus on honest communication is hammered home somewhat repetitively, she convincingly underscores how “healing and growth are inseparable from the company we keep,” and she compassionately frames relational change—and even friend breakups—as the natural result of personal change rather than failure or lack of effort. Readers navigating shifting social circles should find value here. (May)