Author's note -- Introduction -- Part One, The art of fighting. Health, wealth, and sanity: The power of femal friendship -- Howe we come together (and why we fall apart): The three affinities of female friendship -- Health conflict and platonic intimacy: What doesn't kill you makes you closer -- Stress, loneliness, and resentment: The consequences of conflict avoidance -- Mean girls: Thje art of relational aggression (a.k.a. sophisticated stealth) -- Part Two, What's really going on: The art of understanding. The flakey friend -- The friend who doesn't reciprocate -- The 'gossip' -- The love-obsessed friend -- The controlling friend -- The Jealous friend -- The newly challenged friend -- The clingy friend -- The negative friend -- Part Three: Letting go and starting again. How to write your 'comeback' story -- Moving on without her -- How to make friends worth fighting for -- Loving you, loving me -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index.