I want to bring it up, I'm not sure if it's the right setting, but largely just want to talk about codependency and friendships. I looked for safety and comfort in lots of ways: in relationships, in books, in short-lived hobbies, in TV, in long nature hikes, in workshops on “ finding your purpose” or “finding the love of your life,” in meditation, in yoga, in spontaneous road trips. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with any of those, but it was when I got out of my comfort zone that I finally found what I had been looking for.

Easy solutions to create true connections, strengthen relationships and curb loneliness. With scientific insights and biblical references, Allen shares ways to identify the type of friend you need, how to have authentic conversations and more. It’s a sweet map to joy and connection.” — Woman’s World Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.” ~Unknown Interestingly, years later, I actually didn't reach out to her directly. I reached out to a mutual friend just to see how she was doing. I think we've just changed. That experience, I have to tell you, it was really one of the hardest things I had ever gone through and it was very confusing.Then once I did, and you do that work, the first thing that I thought was, oh, now I want better friendships. I feel so much more equipped now that I have more self-esteem, I actually love myself more, I enjoy being with myself, I'm in a much better position to be a better friend and to choose better friends, but how the hell do you do that when you feel like everybody already paired off, everybody already got their friends and now you're the only one who's like, actually I still would really love these friendships that I really wanted as a kid. Where do you even begin? You Will Find Your People really explores that journey and all these feelings that I think so many of us have where even if we thought we had our people we don't now, and so that starting over of, oh, can you even do this after high school or college?

Lane: I absolutely wanted to talk about internet friends and things like that in this book because there is such a really needless stigma around people who are long-distance or internet friends, but you meet people how you meet people. If there is somebody who always comments something really nice on your post or you always really like their posts, there's absolutely nothing wrong with saying there's so many friendships.This book is atrue reflection of God’s heartfor us to experience authentic, vulnerable, and meaningful relationships.” —Sadie Robertson Huff,author, speaker, and founder of Live Original She advised those who have trouble maintaining friendships to “pay someone to be your friend” by seeking counseling because the problem might just be you. Should we evaluate ourselves in these situations? Absolutely. Could we be “the problem?” Certainly. Do we need accountability and someone to call us out? Yes. Is the truth sometimes hard to hear? Definitely. While the above is not a direct quote, her word choice and tone were incredibly insensitive and I would argue outright unkind. I actually read this passage to my husband, who immediately pointed out the harshness. This didn’t sit well with me. I don't want to put that pressure on myself. I think it's nicer to just have a little bit more openness about you and a little bit more vulnerability in your life to be able to have somebody come past your life and say, "Oh, maybe this is a new friend. Maybe this could be it. As opposed to making it this hard assignment." You have to do I am not the target audience for this book. I rarely read "Christian Living" especially those books marketed to women. I have generally found them filled with stories and low on substance. However, I thought that this book was really good. I have only known of Jennie through her work on the IF:Gathering and the women in my church have done a number of her studies. This was my first personal encounter with her work.

By the time I got home and realized this was a very Christian themed book, I decided to give it a chance anyway. I liked the premise of building community after all. There were some good general things about cultivating friendship such as accountability, putting in the time m, conflict resolution etc. The layout of the book made it easy to read. Deep community is the path to health, joy, success, connection. Find Your People willinspire you, challenge you, and encourage you toward the relationships you need and want.” —Annie F. Downs, New York Times bestselling author of That Sounds Fun Alison Stewart: This is All Of It. I'm Alison Stewart, live from the WNYC Studios in Soho. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. Whether you're listening on the radio, live streaming, or on demand, I'm really grateful you're here. On today's show, Emilio Estevez starred in some of your favorite films from the '80s, but he's also a screenwriter and a director. Next month he's re-releasing his 2010 film, The Way , about a man completing a religious Pilgrimage following his son's death. It stars Martin Sheen, Emilio's father. We'll talk about what it's like to direct your dad and why Estevez says the film about finding your way is even more meaningful now than when it came out 13 years ago. It’s not that everything’s perfect and that there are no conflicts or awkwardness, that everyone always gets along or that there aren’t moments of ambivalence where dynamics seem to shift. Share. Give. Create something. Help out. Say thank you and show gratitude. Put in extra thought and effort into making people have positive experiences when they’re with you.

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Unfortunately, this description applies to a lot of people. According to research done by the health insurance company Cigna, more than three in five Americans report being chronically lonely. My dear friend Jennie Allen shows us how to make true emotional connections with the right people so that our authentic relationships can be healthy for all.”—Lysa TerKeurst, author of It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way