Stylist Magazine - Life Lessons On Friendship: 13 Honest Tales of the Most Important Relationships of Our Lives

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First published by Penguin Life in 2021

Text copyright Shortlist Media Limited, 2021
Why Ill always need queer friends copyright Flo Perry, 2021
Illustration copyright Ellie Foster, 2021

The moral right of the copyright holders has been asserted

ISBN: 978-0-241-38498-5

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What does it mean to be a good friend? That, in essence, is the question we posed to the fifteen inspiring women who have contributed to this book.

For if the last few years have shown us anything, its that friendship is a powerful force that can achieve extraordinary things, from global campaigns sparked by sisterhood to game-changing businesses built on college bonds. And it was on the principle of friendship that Stylist was launched back in 2009, too, promising to unite and empower women, sharing each others experiences and celebrating their successes.

So it seemed fitting that we follow our hugely successful Life Lessons from Remarkable Women (2018) and Beauty Reimagined (2019), by asking fifteen of our favourite women, among them author Candice Brathwaite, broadcaster Dame Jenni Murray, influencer Megan Jayne Crabbe and MP Alison McGovern, to explore what friendship means today.

Moving, heart-warming and occasionally messy, their lessons are a valuable reminder that friendships are as diverse as the women who form them. That there is no one way to be a good friend, but that a great one really can change your life

Lisa Smosarski, Editor-in-chief, Stylist

Megan Jayne Crabbe or as her million-strong Instagram followers know her, @Bodyposipanda is a body positivity campaigner and author. An eating disorder recovery advocate, Megans message is unapologetically feminist, and her empowering words and joyful dancing videos have been shared around the world. She followed her bestselling book Body Positive Power with a UK tour of her live show, Never Say Diet Club , and starred in Little Mixs music video, Strip . Megan is also a carer to her sister Gemma, who has cerebral palsy.

I went for a walk one morning at the start of the year. The sky was glaring white and a hint of green was just starting to bravely show itself on the branches. An icy breeze brushed the few slivers of skin unprotected by woolly layers, a visceral reminder of how raw everything still felt. It must have been about three weeks after

Id been swimming in feelings since that day drowning some days, fiercely thrashing my way to the surface on others, defiantly refusing to be dragged under. But that morning, I couldnt keep the wave from swelling up. My legs kept moving, through overhanging trees and down a muddy slope, until eventually, I had to stop. I stood in the middle of a clearing, pulled out my phone and started typing, my thoughts and emotions spilling out through my fingertips. Here, at twenty-six years old, I was exactly where Id never expected to be suddenly single after 2,720 days of being someones girlfriend.

Straight after my break-up, my best friends showed up for me in ways that I didnt even know were possible. One began the process of packing up her life and moving in with me so that the house I was suddenly alone in wouldnt feel so cold and empty. One started checking in every day and creating space for me to pour out every passing emotion, which she would then hold and gently tilt towards the light so that I could see another way through it. One distracted me with graphic imaginary future dates featuring all the wild and experimental sex I was soon to be having. One agreed to run away with me to somewhere hot as soon as reality started feeling like too much. And another started holding my hand in public when I told her how much I missed being held.