We live in a society that heroises romantic love over platonic love, yet despite the attempts to revolutionise Valentines to Galentines and even Malentines, we still prioritise romantic relationships over friendships. Just look at the language we have for each stage; from seeing each other to dating, committing to one another to getting engaged and married. We even have multiple options for the same meaning, whether it's fuck buddies, non-exclusive, no strings attached, friends with benefits or a casual relationship. But when a person will have on average seven to ten romantic relationships in their lifetime and twenty-nine friends, why is it that the conversation on love is far greater than the conversation on friendship? And when only six of these friendships will stand the test of time, this means that the average person will experience the ending of twenty-three friendships in their lifetime - that's three times the amount of romantic breakups. As someone who has gone through a dozen friendship breakups, Michelle began to think she was A Bad Friend. She grieved in silence, shrouded by shame and secrecy, because when society doesn't make room for a conversation about friendship breakups, you learn not to either. Just like a romantic break up, have one too many and society starts poking flaws in why your relationships keep ending. But what if you aren't the problem? What if the problem is the way we think about friendship breakups? Bad Friend will remove the stigma from friendships breakups. It will spark a much-needed conversation around friendships, making us question everything we have been taught about them. It will help the reader identify what they're looking for in a friendship, explore friendship during life changes, help the reader heal from fractures in friendships, and give advice on how to end a friendship, rules for better friendships and how to make new friends. Bad Friend is the book for anyone who has ever been hurt by a friend but it's also the book to read to know that you are not one.

Portrait

Michelle Elman, also known as the "Queen of Boundaries", is a five-board accredited life coach, author, broadcaster and public speaker. Michelle is often praised for her straight-talking approach and has appeared on ITV daytime show, This Morning as their resident life coach. Along with her three best-selling books, Am I Ugly? (2018), The Joy Of Being Selfish (2021) and The Selfish Romantic (2023), Michelle's debut children's book, How To Say No (2023), sparked a crucial conversation between teens and boundaries. Michelle's popularity continues to grow with her books being sold in 16 countries and amassing an online following of over 250k on Instagram and 200k on TikTok. A firm media favourite and core industry spokesperson, Michelle is celebrated by the likes of Glamour, Stylist and Grazia, with Cosmopolitan naming The Joy of Being Selfish as one of the best books to read on mental health.