The Cost of Being a Bridesmaid
The wedding industrial complex has turned a special day into a prohibitively expensive affair. For the bride’s attendants, this can mean shelling out inordinate amounts of money just to prove their loyalty.
Friendship
Lessons From a Fast, Furious Friendship With My Idol
The award-winning memoirist reflects on her intense, instantaneous social-media friendship with a favorite singer—only to be left to try to make sense of her just-as-sudden disappearing act.
I Didn’t Know How to Say Goodbye to My Beloved Dog
In this deeply poignant essay, the award-winning novelist-memoirist perfectly evokes that gutting feeling when your best friend knows it's time to go before you're ready to accept it.
Are We Destined To Be Lonely?
In an age of increased social isolation online, loneliness may feel more chronic. But solitude isn’t a condition to be treated; it’s a fact of life.
Trump Ruined My Favorite Haunt
At her local pub, the writer felt confident being the only one "with her" drinking amid a sea of friendly Trump supporters. Until the day after the election.
How Do You Know When It’s Time to Break Up With a Friend?
The writer was put off by a close friend's penchant for having extramarital affairs—with other married men. Is it wrong to part ways with someone whose values clash with your own?
Dear Julie: “I Can’t Afford to Hang Out With My Friends Anymore”
DAME’s Friendkeeper advises a woman whose BFFs have priced her out of group activities and helps a businesswoman negotiate with a pal involved in a Ponzi scheme.
Dear Julie: “I’m Cooking for the Holidays and Suddenly Everyone Has Food Issues”
DAME’s Friendkeeper helps a holiday host menu-plan for high-maintenance guests and counsels a woman at war with an old friend over how to sell Girl Scout cookies on social media.
Dear Julie: “I Keep Saying the Wrong Thing to My Trans Friend”
DAME's Friendkeeper helps defuse a woman's anxiety over her close pal's transition, and shows a mom how to manage other hypercompetitive parents
“Dear Julie: Can I Remain Friends With an Obama Hater?”
DAME’s Friendkeeper helps a lefty decide whether to unlock horns with her neocon BFF, and advises a mom on the intricate politics of mean-tween parenting.