Being a mom is the toughest job there is and it doesn't come with instructions.

So it's okay if you don't have all the answers.

We'll figure it out together.

This is Mombrain with Alaria Baldwin and Daphne Az. Hey guys, welcome back to Mombrin.

I'm Elaria.

And I'm Daphne, and today we are getting to chat with Lydia Denworth.

She is a science journalist and the author of the new book,

Friendship, The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond.

She's also a mother of three boys, Hollage boys. We We're gonna chat with her about the scientific

grounding of why we need good friendships in our lives, what it does for us

physically, emotionally, how to create and cultivate those good friendships how to tell if a

friendship is good actually some really interesting criteria for what it means to

have a really rewarding relationship with a friend not a romantic romantic partner, not a family member, etc.

And she's also going to explain why if you have children who are about to hit puberty or in the middle of puberty,

why somehow suddenly you... in about to hit puberty or in the middle of puberty,

why somehow suddenly you are experiencing

a realization that their friends matter

a whole lot more than you could ever possibly

imagine friendships mattering and how to help your

children navigate what can be a really exciting but also a very trying time in anyone's life

and doing it with the compounding stress and

strangeness of being in isolation during this pandemic.

...