Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship

Today we’re talking about being friends with people who are different from you. There have been a ton of articles on the topic lately because of a new study about cross-class friendships— just one kind of difference possible in a friendshipI of course could not tackle this topic alone, so I invited the fabulous friendship pair and podcast duo from HerNext Chapter, Stephanie Pierce and Julie Burton.I’ve seen tons of research over the years on the benefits for society as a whole when everyone isn’t exactly like their friends. This is also common sense! We talked about Stephanie and Julie meeting through a friend who brought them together because of their shared business goals. Their deeper friendship developed over time. And I loved their points throughout the episode that the purpose of their friendship was not to learn about each other or become a "project" or "education" for each other. Yes, they eventually spoke about differences in their experiences and found their lives richer for it, but it was the commonalities that brought them together.Stephanie is a mom, wife, connector, and coach. After a 24-year career in engineering and HR, Stephanie re-invented her work life to bring her passion for building communities with her HR expertise. This led to the creation of 2 businesses: Stephpierce.com and KJP Consulting. Julie is a mom, wife, writer, and founder of ModernWell, the first women-centered co-working and wellness space in Minneapolis. She's the author of The Self-Care Solution: A Modern Mother’s Guide to Health and Well-Being. Find Stephanie and Julie's podcast, Her Next Chapter, anywhere you listen to podcasts!ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here.Our sponsor this week: https://www.purewesson.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Author, Mary Laura Philpott, joins me to discuss feeling loneliness and worry despite having close friends. Mary Laura Philpott is the nationally bestselling author of I Miss You When I Blink and of Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives. She writes about the overlap of the absurd and the profound in everyday life. Her writing has been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic, among many other publications. A former bookseller, she also hosted an interview program on Nashville Public Television for several years. Mary Laura lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her family. Find Mary Laura on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook."You can have great friendships and still be lonely because loneliness is a facet of the human experience, especially in times of life when you're going through something that the people around you are not going through. But I think that's why we have to be so intentional about putting ourselves with other people and talking and asking how are things going. And then listening. We have to make ourselves do that, even when it's hard. We can't just default to, well, we just won't talk about it. It's too much." ~ Mary Laura Philpott on episode 30ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here.Our sponsor this week: https://www.purewesson.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Chaz Sandifer joins me to discuss the reality of outgrowing friendships and friends who disappear in the good times but show up in bad times. "Over the course of 10 years, as I've grown as an entrepreneur, I realized there are people in your life who are there for a season, some people who are in our lives forever, and some who are there to teach a lesson and just for you to take the next step." ~ Chaz"'Must be nice' is not a compliment. 'Must be nice' is always full of jealousy or envy, which is very dangerous in a friendship and in your journey." ~ ChazMeet Chaz Sandifer:Chaz is the founder and owner of theNEWmpls, a holistic health and wellness company specializing in fitness, wellness, and nutrition. They offer private fitness classes around the Twin Cities and a variety of special programs with various partners. Shay is the sole source for diabetes prevention in Ramsey County. She also owns Lakeview Terrace Farmers Market, the only Black woman owned farmer’s market in Minnesota. Find Chaz on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn.ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here.Our sponsor this week: https://www.purewesson.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

The one and only Zibby Owens joins me to talk about her memoir, Bookends, and her experiences grieving the death of three close friends.In her new book, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, Zibby tells several story threads at the same time, all organized around the books Zibby was reading when events occurred. It starts as a personal family history of Zibby's grandparents rising in America, her own childhood, education, and career story. It's a motherhood story and a romance, too. But very central to this memoir is the tragedy of losing close friends too soon. Bookends in many ways reads like a love letter to three friends of Zibby's: Stacey, Avery, and Paige.I've had episodes about helping friends who are sick and episodes about friendship breakups or when friends drift away, but I've never discussed the reality of grieving a friend.Meet Zibby Owens:Zibby is an author, a podcaster, a publisher, a CEO, and this next part we have in common— she’s a mother of four. She's the founder of Zibby Owens Media, a privately-held media company designed to help busy people live their best lives by connecting to books and each other. For more information, visit zibbyowens.com and follow her on Instagram @zibbyowens.ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here.Our sponsor this week: https://www.purewesson.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We're tackling four friendship dilemmas from listeners in under 30 minutes. This time the topics circle around (mild) covid issues in friendships, the role of a best friend in adulthood, what happens when a teen's group is drifting away, and a listener whose friends keep walking away from the friendship. Thank you once again to Taryn Kessel for joining me!You can find the full show notes with the questionsHERE.ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here.Our sponsor this week: https://www.purewesson.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

You want to make new friends, but worry it’s too late? Too hard? Too intimidating? You don’t know where to start? I believe it's never too late to make new friends, which is why I invited Carolyn Cochrane, Kristin Nilsen, and Michelle Newman of the Pop Culture Preservation Society Podcast to tell us how they become good friends in the last handful of years, what these new friendships have meant to them in a new stage of life, and what advice they have for others who want to bring new people into their orbits.The Pop Culture Preservation Society is a podcast dedicated to preserving the pop-culture nuggets of our GenX childhoods. Carolyn, Kristin, and Michelle do deep dives into topics such as Barry Manilow, Tiger Beat, The Blue Lagoon, Love Boat, Solid Gold, Saturday Night Fever, and more. But this passion project began with new friendships. Find the Pop Culture Preservation Society Podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts! They're on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter too! AND, they have a new, super fun Facebook group called Growing Up Gen-X.ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here.Our sponsor this week: https://www.purewesson.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Love them or hate them, you're probably in a group chat once in a while or even very regularly. Author, Kat Vellos, and I are navigating the world of group texts and all the friendship issues and potential that come along with them.Kat and I discuss the ideal uses for group chats, the less than ideal uses, and all the potential etiquette opportunities that could make our group chats more effective and enjoyable. I say opportunities because sometimes etiquette has a bad rap, but when done well, it can make communication better. Kat Vellos is the author of We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships. She's a sought after speaker and facilitator who helps people experience authentic connections and develop healthier friendships.If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen me posting about Kat's book and sharing her posts. And everyone should follow Kat at Instagram, where she shares fantastic illustrations that go along with her work that she has created herself. However, she saves her best gems for her fantastic newsletter!ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here.Our sponsor this week: https://www.purewesson.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Did you love the movie Steel Magnolias in the 80s/early 90s? I did, but rewatching it recently brought up some thoughts I never would have had as a kid when I watched it MANY times.Instead of a regular Dear Nina episode this week, I’m directing you to a deep dive discussion I had with Lori at the The Untitled Gen-X Podcast. We left no stone of Steel Magnolias unturned, including the friendships it portrayed, like why did Julia Roberts' character have NO friends?!  The Untitled Gen-X Podcast is an all around really fun podcast. Each episode is dedicated to a different movie TV show music or some aspect of the genX experience.You can find the Untitled Gen-X Podcast anywhere you get your podcasts.ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here.Our sponsor this week: https://www.purewesson.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

How to gracefully maintain boundaries and stop giving away too much information without damaging your friendships. This episode with my husband, Bryan, is a direct follow-up to the discussion I had in episode 23 when my guest and I spoke about kids' issues becoming too private to share with friends. I asked Bryan to share his advice for keeping information private because he's really good at connecting with people without feeling he has to overshare-- something I'm constantly working on improving. Many people agreed with me after listening to episode 23 that it's important to keep some information private, especially information about others. But how can we get out of these types of probing conversations without hurting anyone's feelings or making it seem like we don't trust them?There are lots of ideas in the episode!ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here.Our sponsor this week: https://www.purewesson.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

I answered an anonymous listener's question about how to still feel close to friends when you can no longer discuss issues that once might have bonded you like certain parenting conundrums. There comes a point when our kids' problems are really their stories to share and we have to honor their privacy.Here to help me is Twin Cities author, Rebecca Prenevost, a mom of two daughters who enjoys reading, writing, and listening to all things related to parenting tweens and teens. Rebecca is the author of the Mom Walks series, a women’s fiction series that follows a mom and her two best friends as they navigate the trenches of parenting tweens. You can find her on Instagram, which is where we met!ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here.Our sponsor this week: https://www.purewesson.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands