Connecting: The Enduring Power of Female Friendship

by Sandy Sheehy

After years of taking a backseat to other relationships, women's friendships are finally being celebrated as never before. In Connecting, noted journalist Sandy Sheehy investigates why female friendships are so important, how they function throughout our lives, and how we can best experience the joys they offer. Sheehy introduces ground-breaking research, drawn from more than thirty psychologists and sociologists. Their intriguing, often surprising,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380974304
• ISBN13: 9780380974306
• Release Date: July 2000
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Thoughtful and thought provoking

This book is simply excellent. Sheehy's style is readable and engaging and she relies not only on experts in relational communication and social psychology, but also on her original research with many, many women who shared their experiences. She covers the functions and roles of female friendship as well as the stages of friendship throughout the lifespan. I've purchased copies for all my female friends and relatives. I'm just sorry it seems to be out of print now. An excellent read, I recommend it enthusiastically!

Insightful and entertaining, I recommend it

Reading this book gave me a whole new perspective and insight into my friendships. The author uses more than just entertaining anecdotal stories from women, though she includes plenty of those. She also references research perfomed by others in defining different types of female friendships and how they help fulfill our needs. This was one of the few non-fiction books that I couldn't wait to read each night. Not only was it uplifting and entertaining but I gained some valuable insight as well.

A Book For Those Who Value Their Friendships

This is Sandy Sheehy's Opus, written after 5 years of research, with girls and women of all ages about the nature and scope of their friendships. Without a doubt, it constitutes a fascinating study. In addition, however, the inevitable result is a validation of the intrinsic value of these relationships as well as a collage of insights into how they benefit those interviewed in all other aspects of their lives. For example, female friendship was not generally seen to detract from the relationships of the women with the men in their lives. Rather, it typically enhanced those relationships. This book struck a chord with me, as I am in my early forties and experiencing something of an increased need for meaningful, female friendship. The author says that she saw this phenomenon over and over in women in my age group. Many other parts struck me as very relevant to my life as well. I highly recommend this book.

Connecting Connects

We were delighted with this book. Even though the book specifies female friendships, it contains a lot of wisdom about friendships of any type. Strongly recommended.

this book should be gifted to everyone's truest friends

after reading this tremendously readable book, i decided that my oldest friends from childhood and my closest friends of today, must have this book. readers will want to dispense this like candy to special people. The author makes it a comfortable read, an enjoyable read, an awakening read, and a pure delight. She has put in obvious hard work in capturing truths about friendships (honest, and both good and bad) in people's lives. it's a treasure. stop reading this review now, and just order it! you will bring joy to yourself and to those who receive it from you! nobody has touched on the connection of friendships in such a powerful way!