Friendship

Ms Denworth sticks to the science, calmly telling us the truth no matter what we think we need to hear. * Wall Street Journal * The science of friendship has grown remarkably rich in recent years, with scientists studying everything from the chemicals that create bonds in our brains to the friendships animals make for years on end. There's a deep evolutionary story to friendship now, and Lydia Denworth tells it in clear, lyrical prose. -- Carl Zimmer, author of She Has Her Mothers Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity Friendship was once mocked as a naive notion, irrelevant in our species and non-existent in others. In her lively, personable style, Lydia Denworth reviews what we know about the benefits of close relationships and their long evolutionary history. -- Frans de Waal, New York Times bestselling author of Mama's Last Hug The power of friendship in many ways the most essential of our relationships has long been underestimated. It's an absolute pleasure to see Lydia Denworth do it justice in this lovely, insightful, and important book. -- Deborah Blum, Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Poison Squad Friendship takes a fascinating deep dive into the societal, emotional, and health benefits of our everyday relationships. * RealSimple * A sweeping, precise, and engaging narrative about our primordial capacity for friendship. If you care about what really matters in life, what brings us true joy and banishes our suffering, and what people at the end of life consistently report as the thing that most matters, you will care about this fantastic natural history of human friendship. -- Nicholas A. Christakis, author of Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society I can think of no better rebuke to todays success-obsessed brand of parenting than Denworths clarion call for friendship. Her convincing narration of the science shows that for our kids to live happily ever after, and successfully too, we must let them spend many more afternoons with friends. -- Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of How to Raise An Adult

Lydia Denworth is a science journalist. She is a contributing editor for Scientific American, and writes the Brain Waves blog for Psychology Today. Her work regularly appears in Scientific American Mind, Parents, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and many other publications. Formerly, she was a Newsweek reporter and a bureau chief for People.

Introduction: A New Science Chapter 1: Fierce Attachment Chapter 2: Building a Social Brain Chapter 3: Friendship under the Skin Chapter 4: Middle School is About Lunch Chapter 5: A Deep Wish for Friendship Chapter 6: The Circles of Friendship Chapter 7: Digital Friendship Chapter 8: Born to Be Friendly? Chapter 9: Deeply Built into the Brain Chapter 10: The Good Life, Revealed Acknowledgements Index