When I tell friends I have written a (forthcoming) book about social connection, one of the most common questions I get is about “lost” friendships. They regret that they are no longer in contact with people who were once part of their lives. Should they make the first move to get in touch, or accept that some relationships are better left in the past?
The desire to reconnect is often balanced by a fear of being rebuffed, but two recent papers have convinced me that we can all be a bit braver about reaching out.
The first comes from…