Friendship in the Age of Loneliness: An Optimist's Guide to Connection, Hardcover

*NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB SUMMER 2021 NOMINEE*

After a year of social distancing and lockdown measures during the pandemic, it's more clear than ever that our friendships and social bonds are vital to our health and happiness. This refreshing, positive guide helps you take care of your people and form deep connections in the digital age

We are lonelier than ever. The average American hasn't made a new friend in the last five years.

Research has shown that people with close friends are happier, healthier, and live longer than people who lack strong social bonds. But why--when we are seemingly more connected than ever before--can it feel so difficult to keep those bonds alive and well? Why do we spend only four percent of our time with friends?

In this warm, inspiring guide, Adam "Smiley" Poswolsky proposes a new solution for the mounting pressures of modern life: focus on your friendships. Smiley offers practical habits and playful reminders on how to create meaningful connections, make new friends, and deepen relationships. He'll help you develop a healthier relationship with technology, but he'll also encourage you to prioritize real-world experiences, send snail mail, and engage in self-reflective exercises.

Written in short, digestible, action-oriented sections, this book reminds us that nurturing old and new friendships is a ritual, a necessity, and one of the most worthwhile things we can do in life.

About author(s):

Adam Smiley Poswolsky is a millennial workplace expert, motivational speaker, and author of The Quarter-Life Breakthrough and The Breakthrough Speaker. Smiley helps companies attract, retain, and empower millennial talent, and he has inspired thousands of professionals to be more engaged at work. His TEDx talk on "the quarter-life crisis" has been viewed more than 1.5 million times, and he has spoken in fifteen countries about millennials, multigenerational engagement, and fostering connection and belonging in the workplace. Smiley's work has been featured inthe New Yorker, the Washington Post, USAToday, Fast Company, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, CNN, and the World Economic Forum, among many other outlets.