Episode 12: Tanya Cothran on Conscious Friendship
“I wish people would start talking about their friendships with their friends”
Tanya Cothran
Tanya Cothran is a friendship animator and writer of the newsletter, Platonic Romance. She joins Valery to talk about how to navigate the impact of major life changes on friendship, like one friend becoming a parent or another one moving, and what models of conscious friendship can look like.
In Tanya Cothran on Conscious Friendship:
- The (literal) moves that led Tanya to centring friendships in her life.
- The positive and touching reactions to Tanya’s newsletter about friendship, Platonic Romance
- How Tanya (child-free-by-choice) and her good friend Clara (a new mom) navigated the shift from two-of-us to three-of-us through dialogue and dedicated friend time.
- Why the answer to so many friendship related questions is “talk about it,” and Tanya’s tips on how to do that well
- Different types of friendships (and why we need all of them)
- How to show up for people in big life moments, like bereavement, in order to have more lasting friendships in your life
- What can happen when you and one of your besties are both moving, and you have an honest conversation about the fact that if you live more than a 10 minute walk apart you probably won’t see each other as much
- How some flyers and a group chat were the keys to Tanya making friends in her new condo building.
Find Tanya:
Find Other Episode References:
The Friendship Files (series in The Atlantic)
No One Should Have to Live a Life Without Us
On the Life Without Us podcast, Valery Navarrete shared two seasons of stories about community and connection to inspire more of us to have more “us” in our lives.
Tune in wherever you find podcasts!
Sign Up for Valery’s Newsletter!
Valery’s free, monthly newsletter provides a quick mix of updates on what she is up to and content you can use. Look for it in your inbox on the third Thursday of each month!
