Platonic

How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—and Keep—Friends

By: Marisa G. Franco PhD

Narrated by: Marisa G. Franco PhD

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Instant New York Times bestseller

Is understanding the science of attachment the key to building lasting friendships and finding “your people” in an ever-more-fragmented world?

How do we make and keep friends in an era of distraction, burnout, and chaos, especially in a society that often prizes romantic love at the expense of other relationships? In Platonic, Dr. Marisa G. Franco unpacks the latest, often counterintuitive findings about the bonds between us—for example, why your friends aren’t texting you back (it’s not because they hate you!), and the myth of “friendships happening organically” (making friends, like cultivating any relationship, requires effort!). As Dr. Franco explains, to make and keep friends you must understand your attachment style—secure, anxious, or avoidant: it is the key to unlocking what’s working (and what’s failing) in your friendships.

Making new friends, and deepening longstanding relationships, is possible at any age—in fact, it’s essential. The good news: there are specific, research-based ways to improve the number and quality of your connections using the insights of attachment theory and the latest scientific research on friendship. Platonic provides a clear and actionable blueprint for forging strong, lasting connections with others—and for becoming our happiest, most fulfilled selves in the process.

©2022 Marisa G. Franco (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Dr. Marisa G. Franco and Platonic have been invaluable guides on my journey to nurture and deepen my friendships. Her advice is wise, concrete, and effective—and my friendships are better for it.”—Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed, Founder of Together Rising

“Dr. Franco’s book ‘Platonic’ is an ode to modern friendship, complete with a practical guide to making and keeping friends. It reminds us of the importance of platonic love in today’s society—bucking the notion that romantic love trumps everything else in our lives…the depth of research Ms. Franco weaves into the book sheds light onto an aspect of our world that—like an old and trusted pal—it may be too easy to take for granted.”—Wall Street Journal

"A remarkable examination of the epidemic of loneliness and sound advice for alleviating it...A pleasing mix of research, advice, and humor, this book is a useful tonic to a key social ailment."—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

A must read for everyone

What a life changing book this was for me. I am happy the author read it instead of someone who didn’t care about the topic and was monotone, Marisa does a great job. This book teaches you how to be a better friend and partner and how to show compassion and love to strangers and make new friends. I will probably end up reading this again after I begin to work on all of the areas I didn’t know I needed to work on until now. Must read for anyone looking to learn more about yourself, others, and how to become closer to those around you.

Lots of Anecdotal Content

The Author does state right off the bat that there isn't much research in this area and the ideas are still new in the eyes of science. This isn't bad, and I appreciate the efforts of the author to make this content more accessible.

There's lots of stories that illustrated the author's points very well. Much of the content of this audio book is just stories about people she interviewed. I'm personally not much interested in this kind of information, I would have liked less of the stories and more science and psychology, but the book would have been quite short if this was the writing style.

Great book

a slap in the face on friendship and a great resource on how to for friends. Highly recommend

A better person 💕✨

Thank you for your views on friendship! This has helped me not only with my relationship and friendships but my connection with myself. I will practice being a good friend to myself and others daily because of this book. I’ll be going to get an actual copy of this book for my personal library!

Great Read!

Great in so many ways! Definitely multi-genre. This book shines a light on so many unspoken and ignored topics. A good spark for meaningful conversations

Really helpful

This was such a great book tackling a really difficult topic for most adults. I found so many helpful tips and realized some unconscious mistakes I was making while trying to grow my friend group as an adult. Very grateful for the insight.

Really great book!

This book includes research and addresses current cultural issues as well as historical information. Must read!

Common sense with good examples

Her descriptions of attachment styles were very good. Talking about how everyone, but particularly men have trouble having close friendships in recent years hit home.

Useful research needs different narrator

I appreciate the research and examples. However, not every book needs to be narrated by its author. In this case a professional narrator would have been less stilted and more engaging.

So good! A must read for anyone wondering how to make or have better friendships!

A great book about friendship with an affectionate, emotionally-intelligent, and scientific perspective. If you’ve ever wondered how to make friends or how to have better friendships, this book is for you. Will reread because there's sooooooo much in here. Loved that it was narrated by the author because if heard her speak about this topic on podcasts, great personal touch!