Growing-Up Girlfriends

by Erin Smalley and Carrie Oliver

Summary
Even when life is hectic and harried, every woman has a God-given longing for relationship, and her female friends play an important role in filling that. Oliver and Smalley help women distinguish between self-centered, insecure, childish relationships and other-centered, healthy, “grown-up” relationships. Using personal anecdotes and scriptural principles, they explain ten characteristics of a grown-up friend and offer ideas on how readers can develop these attributes in themselves. Finally, they tackle the tough issues of friendships, such as how to support a friend in crisis, how to work toward forgiveness when a friend has injured you, and how to determine when it is best to let a friendship go.

Back Cover Copy

Finding new friends to enrich your life isn’t as simple as it may seem. Join Erin Smalley and Carrie Oliver as they explore our God-given longings for friendship and offer practical insights into building strong, rewarding relationships that endure—even during seasons of conflict and change.

You'll learn the secrets of developing healthy “grown-up” friendships and avoiding volatile, insecure ones. Using personal anecdotes and scriptural principles, Erin and Carrie explain the ten attributes of grown-up friends and offer ideas on how you can develop these qualities in yourself.

Grown-Up Girlfriends will help you:

• identify potential soul-mate friends
• mentor others
• set healthy boundaries
• resolve conflicts constructively
• support a friend in crisis
• practice healthy forgiveness and reconciliation
• let go of destructive friendships . . . or avoid them altogether

This candid look at the challenges and rewards of becoming a grown-up girlfriend was written with women like you in mind because