Danielle Bayard Jackson is the author of Fighting for our Friendships: The Science and Art of Conflict and Connection in Women’s Relationships.

This book aims to explain the mechanics of female friendship from an aerial view, as well as provide tangible strategies to equip women for the day-to-day business of being friends.

Danielle didn’t set out to become a friendship coach and educator. She began her career as a high school teacher, where her students often came to her with their friendship issues. When she left the classroom to begin her own public relations agency, she found that her high-achieving clients were also (privately) struggling in their platonic relationships with other women. Over the next decade, Jackson began to immerse herself in the world of female friendship, studying what the latest research has to say about women’s cooperation, communication, and conflict. Through conversations with linguists, psychologists, and neurologists, Danielle has learned more about what brings women together—and what tears them apart.

Now Danielle is sharing her findings in her new book. In it, readers will discover:

·    The three “affinities” that bring women together (and tear them apart)

·    Scripts to navigate nine of the most challenging “friend types” (and how to know which one you are)

·    The covert strategies women use to hurt each other (and how to avoid them)

·    How to have a hard conversation with a friend (without losing the friendship)

·    Surprising ways that women’s people-pleasing delays platonic intimacy (and how to stop it)

·    How to know if a friendship is worth saving (and what to do to recover)

·    How to make (and deepen!) connections with other women

Through it all, Jackson keeps her eye on the big picture questions women have at the top of their minds: How can I find friends who will love me? and How can I freely express the love I have to give?

Her ability to speak to women in various life stages has contributed to the growing popularity of her business, Friend Forward and podcast of the same name. You can watch several of her viral videos on TikTok (300,000 followers @thefriendshipexpert) or on Instagram @daniellebayardjackson.