The Importance of Friendship

I think friends are vastly underrated. Frankly, I couldn’t survive without mine.

My friend Michele has always been there for me, through every crisis and through every moment of triumph. Julie’s steadfast belief in me continually encourages and sustains me – and she never fails to make me laugh. When I have tech issues (which is more often than I’d like to admit), I know I can rely on Peter. And it’s because of my buddy Jill that I practise Tai Chi every day. I have so many truly wonderful, supportive friends and I value them enormously.

However, in the general scheme of things, friends are not considered particularly important. When someone dies, it’s always the family members who step in to claim the person– as if shared DNA gives them unassailable rights, and determines that they knew the person best. It’s only sometimes that a friend is given the opportunity to speak at the funeral/memorial, in amongst a seemingly-endless queue of family members.

Movies often plug love stories, and romance novels always sell. Many TV series extol the virtues of romance/looking for romance, although there are a few notable exceptions … but even these can veer friends into the realm of romance. (Think Friends, The Secret Lives of Us, etc.)

I’ve had various live-in relationships which have come and gone, but I have friendships that have endured, and continue to play an extremely important role in my life. And I know that I’m not alone in this … so why the hell don’t we see this reflected in our books and movies? Why do we rarely see friendship at the centre of a story?

If I’d written a romance novel, it may have been a best-seller. But I didn’t (and frankly, sometimes when I look at my bank balance, I wish I had!) No. I wanted to write a story that reflected real life … or at least life as I know it. At the core of my novel is a friendship. It’s a competitive and fractious one – and often extremely funny – with both Nikki and Jess taking turns to tell their side of the story. For friendships, like all relationships, don’t always run smoothly. But Nikki and Jess are there for each other, in ways that really matter … exactly like my own friends are for me.

So today, I write this for you – my friends. I’m grateful for all you contribute to my life, and for inspiring me to write a story that puts friendship at its heart.

Nikki vs Jess: https://bushtelegraphxpress.com/novels/nikki-vs-jess/