Why Friendship Matters

“What if friendship – not marriage – was the center of life?” That’s what Rhaina Cohen asks in a new book, The Other Significant Others. With fewer people getting married or marrying later in life, high divorce rates and a loneliness epidemic, maybe it’s time to rethink the value of our friends. University of Maryland psychologist Marisa Franco has been studying adult friendships for years. She’s found that these relationships can be some of the most sustaining but are often overlooked. In this episode, we’ll talk about our closest non-romantic relationships and how they enrich our lives. And, need advice making new friends? We’ll cover that, too.