Archive for February, 2010
Can a friend who is ‘green with envy’ really be a friend?
QUESTION Dear Irene: I am in my mid-thirties and have always made and had easy friendships. People really like me and I like them and being liked. All would be well except that I harbor a very strong and miserable envious streak. I cannot bear to see my friends be happy in their romantic […]
Dr. Levine comments on “How to find Mommy Friends”
By Katherine Bontrager At one time, 10 at night was the time you hit the town, instead of hitting the sheets. And 3 in the morning was when the bars closed and you feared nursing a hangover, instead of nursing a hungry infant. Ah, the difference one positive pregnancy test and a lifetime of love […]
Roll Out the Red Carpet: Oscar Party Advice
Dawn Williams Bertuca and Tina VanZant Bishop are two talented women who juggle marriage, motherhood, and jobs. In the spare time they have left, they are virtual party planners extraordinaire. In 2005, they created www.GirlfriendCelebrations.com to foster female friendships on the internet, and to provide women with party ideas for girls’ nights in and girls’ […]
A Leap of Faith: Dumped over religious differences?
It is true that differences in religion, politics and values can create wedges between people who were once close friends—but this generally doesn’t happen when friendships are otherwise solid. People accept the differences and agree to disagree so the differences don’t interfere with the relationship.
March 27 issue of First for Women – Dr. Levine Offers Advice on How to Mend a Friendship
First for Women – March 27, 2010 Click here to read The Friendship Doctor’s advice on how to react if you are rebuffed when you try to mend a fractured friendship.
Friendship, caring, and “the call list”

Each of us should have a Saturday morning “call list” to express our affection for the people we truly care about.
Friends in unlikely places: The X factor
Whether it’s an ex-girlfriend, ex-wife, or ex-lover, most women would immediately dismiss the possibility of negotiating a real friendship with a living apparition from their partner’s past. Admittedly, these relationships are thorny but they can have some upsides. My friend, life coach Lauree Ostrofsky of the Washington, DC area, offered to pen (keyboard) a guest […]
A breakdown of trust: When long-time friends fight over a guy
QUESTION Dear Dr. Levine, For the past six to eight months I’ve had two friendships deteriorate. Jillian had been my friend for about 15 years. We never partied or saw much of each other due to distance and her ten-year relationship with a guy yet we always kept in touch. When her relationship was over, […]
Friendship by the Book: Pieces of Happily Ever After
Although it’s sometimes hard to accept, life never evolves like a fairy tale. Journalist and author Irene Zutell’s latest novel, Pieces of Happily Ever After (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2009), sensitively captures the inevitable struggles that women encounter along the way, including: infidelity, divorce, balancing care for children and parents, juggling work and family, growing up, […]
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