Produced by the ILAB at WBUR Boston.

The universe has good news for the lost, lonely, and heart sick.

Sugar is here, the both of us, speaking straight into your ears.

I'm Cheryl Strayed.

I'm Steve Almond.

This is Dear Sugar Radio.

Oh dear song, won't you please?

Share some better sweet days with me.

I check my bedbub every day.

Oh, and this sugar, you see in my way.

Hi Cheryl.

Hi Steve.

So we are in week two of our episodes on friendship.

Last week we did the frequently asked questions.

This week we're narrowing our focus a bit to look at what happens when men and women are friends.

And the issues that might arise, why don't we just dive right in my friends?

Let's do it, let's do it my friend.

Alright dear sugars, I'm a young woman in a tight knit male dominated creative industry.

Our work is our art and our art is our work which means there's ample opportunity to make meaningful connections that extend well beyond the proverbial water cooler.

I have a few close male friends I'm deeply connected to and I mean true friends with whom I share strong but platonic emotional bonds.

I love the richness these relationships bring to my life.

My partner does not.

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