Appreciate your True Friends with Friendship Quotes and Stories

“BJ Gallagher ... motivates and teaches with empathy, understanding, and more than a little humor.”—Debba Haupert, of the Girlfriendology Podcast

True friends are hard to find and even harder to describe. But with real life stories, friendship quotes, inspirational quotes, and anecdotes about the ups and downs and ins and outs of friendships, Friends are Everything has everything you ever need for friendship empowerment.

Beautiful friendships of all shapes and sizes. To bestselling author B.J. Gallagher, there are so many types of friends. There are friends who tell you what you don’t want to hear, friends who help you be your best self, friends who forgive you when you hurt them, friends who respect your boundaries. There are neighbors, best friends, childhood friends, spiritual friends, friends who are family, friends who are lovers, friends at work, and the list goes on. Get ready to dive into what it really means to love a friend and what it means to be one.

Inspirational quotes for your girlfriends. With more than three dozen inspiring stories from girlfriends across the country, affirmative acronyms, and female empowerment quotes, Friends are Everything is a heartfelt celebration of friendships across all generations and a perfect gift to share with your bestie.

Inside Friends are Everything, find friendship quotes, inspirational quotes, and words of empowerment in heartwarming and entertaining stories such as:

• “Please, Help Me Stop Shooting Myself in the Foot!”
• “Finding Mr. Probably Right”
• “A Woman’s Wheels”
  

If you enjoyed books like That's What She Said; Tell Me More; or Hey Friend, I Wrote a Book About You, then you’ll love Friends are Everything.

WHEN I THINK ABOUT all the ways in which my friends show their love for me, it is many of the little things that come to mind:

• Ruby and Paddy, who live next door and feed and watch over my five cats whenever I go out of town . . . so I can travel with peace of mind, knowing that my beloved, furry, four-footed family is safe and secure at home.
• My friend Diana, who often leaves a flower or a sprig of berries on my gate at night, just to let me know she's in the neighborhood walking her dogs . . . and thinking of me.
• My artist friend Antonette, who made some fabulous papiermâché eggs one Easter and left them in a basket on my doorstep before dawn . . . just to wish me a happy Easter in a very special way.
• My writing partner Steve, who, when I send him an e-mail joke, always has to have the last word—so he tops the joke with a punch line that is better than the original . . . leaving me laughing out loud in the solitude of my office.
• My mother Gloria, who occasionally slips a $20 bill into her letters to me—“mad money,” she calls it. Mom has always been one of my best friends.
• My friend Joan, whose quips and quotes, those pearls of wisdom, have guided and inspired me over the past twenty years. . . . I could write a whole book on the many things I have learned from Joan!
• My friend Anita, who welcomes me into her Berkeley home whenever I am in northern California and need a place to stay . . . and if she's out of town, she just leaves me a key so I can stay there anyway!
• Two of my son's former girlfriends, Nancy and Yvonne, who still send me cards on Mother's Day (even though Michael long ago married someone else). . . . I still think of those two girls as the daughters I never had.

What do these friends all have in common? They understand that it's the little things, the simple things, the thoughtful surprises that express love and friendship best. These little things make a BIG difference in my life!

Plant a seed of friendship; reap a bouquet of happiness.

—Lois L. Kaufman, author, humorist

True happiness is of a retired nature, and an enemy to pomp and noise; it arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and in the next from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions.

—Joseph Addison, English essayist, poet, politician

Sister

Where are you now, babita, companion,

amiga, my friend?

Didn't we sit the winter through,

snowflakes melting on our tongues,

waiting for summers' lilies to hold our dreams?

How we loved

the bullfrogs and the toads. Ah, dear one,

I hope you remember

I touched your shoulder with my heart.

—Janell Moon

​

HELPING HAND: What's in a Word?

Hearing what's needed

Eager to contribute

Listening with compassion

Paying attention to the little things

Intuitively understanding what's helpful and what's not

Never overstepping your bounds

Going out of your way for a true friend

Healing love, healing touch

Asking “What can I do to help?”

Never assuming that you know what's best

Desiring to serve and contribute to others' wellbeing

You have not lived a perfect day . . . unless you have done something for someone who will never be able to repay you.

—Ruth Smeltzer, author

Contents

Introduction

True Friends:

1 Understand that the little things can make a BIG difference

2 Laugh together . . . often!

3 Help us see ourselves more clearly

4 Love us unconditionally, just as we are

5 Teach and inspire us to be our best selves

6 Extend themselves with generosity and love

7 Comfort and support us through struggles and disappointments

8 Forgive us when we hurt them, just as we forgive them

9 Let us love them back

10 Know the power of community. . . . Together we can do almost anything!

And Finally . . .

Thank You!