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We are thrilled to reveal the cover of our next book, My Other Ex: Women’s True Stories of Leaving and Losing Friendship!
This cover was a collaboration with our fantastic designer, Stacey Aaronson. We also redesigned our HerStories Project website. After searching far and wide, we fortuitously discovered the perfect photo that conveyed the main theme of so many of the essays in this book: Women’s friendships so often come to a crossroads at which time two women can try to hold on to the friendship, staying connected, or the friends can take two completely separate paths without each other.
So many of the essays are about this moment in time, when both rupture and new beginnings are possible. The conflict — in fact, the feeling of suspense — in these stories pulled us in, causing us to wonder what we would do in these women’s shoes, faced with the unique circumstances of their lives.
There are so many ways that friendships can end, and our book describes 35 of them, from each of our 35 contributors. At the heart of each essay is the recognition from each writer that she has lost something very real and very personal, a connection that will never be forgotten.
Here’s an excerpt from our introduction:
“There is so much good, so much power, so much love, in female friendships. But there is also a dark side of pain and loss. And surrounding that dark side, there is often silence. Women feel that there is no language to talk about their feelings. There is also shame, the haunting feeling that the loss of a friendship is a reflection of our own worth or capacity to be loved.
This book, we hope, is part of breaking that silence. We as women need to recognize the scars of lost friendships and make it okay to talk about them. And we must also teach our daughters how to manage conflict and emotion without resorting to these forms of indirect aggression that cause deep pain with no visible wounds.
The life cycle is long, and many friendships will not last, nor should they endure forever. Yet the end of something once powerful and important will bring sadness and grief.
We are thankful to the brave women who shared their stories about complicated relationships that were forged not through blood or romance but through companionship and connection. Their stories haunted them, they haunted us, and we know that they will move you too.”
The book will be published this September. To receive previews and updates about book bonuses and special early bird deals, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter! We would love for you to become a part of our HerStories Project community!
We’d love to hear your thoughts about the cover and our new website….