Laura is such a great writer, I will read everything she puts into the world. She gives such perfect language to friendships roles and dynamics and helped me to think about what I want/need in friendships moving forward.

This is a great book on the kinds of friends you should have over the course of your life. I love reading about the different ways we can find connection with others and knowing that you don’t have to be everything to everyone is very comforting to me.
I love Laura and her thoughtful approach to life.

The Life Council by Laura Tremaine is a unique and helpful book about adult friendships and the various, and sometimes under-appreciated, roles that friends play in and throughout our lives.

Through Tremaine’s relatable personal stories and insightful questions, The Life Council helped me to reflect on the friendships I have (past and present), the friendships I want, and the kind of friend I aspire to be.

Although this type of personal reflection can certainly bring out all manner of emotions, I came away from this book primarily feeling hopeful and empowered, thanks to Laura Tremaine’s encouraging tone and the grounded examples of real-world friendships throughout the book.

This is a book you are going to want to immediately talk about with others and, if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself frequently picking up your phone to reach out to your old, new, and potential friends as you read it.

Thank you to Laura Tremaine, Zondervan, and NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of this book for review.

I loved this book and will be rereading it! As usual, Laura Tremaine gives us so much to think reflect on, and this is a book I definitely want to return to. As with her last book, I love the combination of her thoughts and wisdom combined with examples from personal experiences, it really brings the book to life!

I'm a super fan of Laura Tremaine and of her podcast. I will consume anything she produces due to her distinctive voice and her introspective words of wisdom. She's really funny too.

The Life Council is her latest book all about female friendship. Per Laura, The 'life council' is a group of friends every woman should have from 'the soul sister' to the 'Business Bestie', to the 'fellow obsessive'. My first thought was, 'wow, Laura is really lucky to have so many friends' but, as she explains, one friend can fit in many slots and some friendship slots can be filled with friends you only have online while others are left open waiting to be filled by new people you've yet to meet.

Laura also provides solid advice and reminders for being a good friend. A good reminder is not to over think it because most importantly in friendship is your presence.

I can't wait to listen to this on audio! Knowing Laura's voice from her podcast made the ebook read like a chat with a girlfriend, too, but her voice will be a bonus.

I've loved the way Laura talks about friendship for a long time, so I was happy to get an ARC of her newest book. While I didn't find any earth-shattering information here, the way she gives different types of friends a name did cause me to think through my own relationships. I especially appreciated Laura's five core friendship philosophies and even found myself lecturing my 9-year-old this morning that he needs to "believe the best" about people he's in relationship with. Thought-provoking, vulnerable, and well-written, I highly recommend The Life Council to any woman looking to improve her friendships.

I knew I would read this book, because I consume anything Laura Tremaine puts out. She’s so thoughtful and intentional with her writing, podcasting, and social media and I love being able to turn her content into hours and pages of journaling fodder as well as hours of thinking. I pre-ordered this book the day I was able to, but was honored to receive an ARC via #NetGalley and #LauraTremaine. I was not sure that I would enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed her first book, only because I didn’t know if I would find any new information. I am so glad I was wrong. This book was propulsive and full of so many good ideas as it pertains to friendship among women throughout life. It not only explores roles amongst our friends, but navigating how to start a friendship, addressing issues in friendship & ending friendships when necessary. The vulnerability required for female friendships is explored in a nuanced way that only someone that has spent time thinking and pondering and asking about these ideas can explore. Laura’s writing style is easy to understand and clearly communicated in a way that everyone can understand. This book is a must read for every woman from early adult years through the lifespan.

I absolutely loved this exploration of different types of friendships. I planned to read it slowly, one chapter at a time, but I couldn’t put it down. I cannot wait to get my physical copy in hand so I can reread with book darts. As is, it gave me so much to think about and reflect on regarding my own friendships. Adult friendships are trickier than I expected, and I really value Laura Tremaine’s perspective. She shares with vulnerability and humor, without being self-deprecating, and I find her writing voice so relatable.

The Life Council is a non-fiction book about friendship. There are countless books out there about building healthy relationships our with our spouses, our parents, our children, in our workplaces, but very little exists about friendship. Laura makes a very compelling argument why friendship relationships are just as important to maintain as these others. Too often, society paints a picture of women laughing together at a table over wine and assume this happens just...magically? No. Friendships take work. And that work is worth it.

The layout of this book offers Laura's rules for friendship and the idea of the Life Council. Laura proposes 10 types of friends that we all could benefit from having in our lives. This may seem overwhelming- what if I don't have that many friends in my life? What if I am so busy that seeking out friends feels like too much? I had these same thoughts and questions, but Laura quickly calmed my nerves. These ten types of friendships she describes were easily recognizable, and may come in different seasons. For instance, there is the "fellow obsessive". If you are reading this, you probably hold or could hold that seat on my Life Council. We all love books and talk each others' ears off about them. Reading about each of these Life Council seats led me to reflect on the people in my life that have or currently hold those seats, leading to deep appreciation for things those people do for my soul that I didn't even realize.

In summation, reading The Life Council reminded me that often, presence is all that is required. Even when I'm tired or my introverted self wants to become one with the couch all the time, I NEVER regret the time I spend with my Life Council, but do regret when I flake or do not invest into my friendships the way I should. Every reader will have different takeaways from reading this book, but I can guarantee every reader will find new ways to look at their friendships. You may strengthen some, you may look for new ones, or you may decide it's okay to let some go.

I'll never forget my experience reading Laura's first book: Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First. It was the first time I saw some of my own very unique experiences with anxiety on the page. This led me to listening to 10 Things to Tell You and loving all things Laura! I am forever impressed by her ability to put language to things we all feel, but don't always have the words to describe, and her ability to consistently model vulnerability in a way that makes the rest of us want to as well. It was an honor to read The Life Council early. This publishes April 4th, and I highly recommend pre-ordering!

Once again, Laura Tremaine has thoughtfully crafted a book about human connection that will prompt reflection and conversation and will improve your relationship with your own Life Council. Laura is unflinchingly honest about her lifelong experiences in friendships, including mistakes made, relatable lessons learned, and the vulnerability required to stay open and attuned in a world that has suffered so much division. This book is warm, witty, and genuinely helpful for grown-ups who want to take stock of relationships and maybe forge some new friendships.