Sustaining true friendship is a lot more challenging than we give it credit for.

As a species, we tend to be doers, forever shaping and reshaping the world to better suit our purposes.

Seeing the world differently is one of the toughest incompatibilities to reconcile in a relationship.

Far too many girls' and women's romantic relationships are formed around a negation of their own worth and attributes rather than a confirmation of them.

When the going gets tough, the prospect of delegating half your responsibilities to a willing volunteer, either to play a supporting role or take over the breadwinning, certainly holds allure.

Reading a book you are not enjoying is a torture not to be undertaken without a reward. I leave plays at the interval, too!

We invest less in our friendships and expect more of friends than any other relationship. We spend days working out where to book for a romantic dinner, weeks wondering how to celebrate a partner or parent's birthday, and seconds forgetting a friend's important anniversary.