September 12th, 2012 
No matter what your age, it’s hard to forget the sheer nervous energy of making a new friend: from walking up to a fellow first grader and asking her to be friends to clicking with college roommates, it’s a process that repeats itself again and again throughout our lives, until maybe it doesn’t? One unfortunate side effect of the responsibilities and time restrictions of adult life, as well as stricter codes of acceptable behavior, is fewer opportunities to make a new friend.
Photo Credit: Rachel Bertsche
This is exactly the problem Rachel Bertsche addresses in her book, MWF Seeking BFF. After getting married and moving to Chicago with her husband, Rachel finds herself far away from her close friends and wondering how an adult with a job and a husband goes about building new circles of friends from scratch. She decides to spend a year – her first in Chicago and as a married woman – going on one “friend date” per week, hoping that by the end of it, she would have at least a handful of new best friends. MWF Seeking BFF serves as a chronicle of her year, and includes strategies for finding and approaching potential new friends, as well as maintaining budding friendships without coming on too strong. She also breaks up the narrative with results of her research on friendship and stories from her past that illustrate the concepts she’s presenting. By the end of the year, she’s gained plenty of valuable information about friendship, and had a few surprising revelations as well. Plus, she continues to share stories, research and advice regarding friendship on her blog, mwfseekingbff.com, so make sure to check that out as well.
Pick this one up if you’re moving or just want to widen your own circle — it’s a fun and insightful read that might inspire you to go out and make a few new friends of your own.
