Summary: Tom tells about his concern regarding losing friends in his divorce and discovering that his friends were still there for him. Adrian discusses how his family supported him and how he looked to his friends on a daily basis. Tom discusses the pack mentality associated with less-close friends and how some treated him as diseased. He reflects on the point that people don't think as much about someone else's divorce as they do their own life. Adrian discusses the difficulty for men to reach out to their friends and the difficulty men have venting or being patient with someone else's venting. Tom cites Author John Gray's thesis that men don't listen to aide venting, they listen to try and solve problems. Tom shares a story of travel strictly for the benefit of interacting with friends. and Adrian shares the dangers of toxic friends and toxic families- those who aggressively judge your behavior and situation. Adrian and Tom also point out that most relationships have both healing and toxic properties. Tom shares the revolution of trust that comes from sharing the facts of his separation and the truth of the wisdom that you get out of a relationship what you put into it. Adrian recalls his worry that vocalizing that a relationship is in crisis makes that crisis real. He also reflects on the difficulties presented by the retelling of the banal facts of his divorce bringing back a lot of the original pain of the separation. Tom and Adrian reveal the problem of therapy and its contribution to making divorce seem more inevitable. Adrian share the value of the support that comes from sharing the reality of the divorce with his mom and other members of his family. Tom points out that friends will support you and remind you that they do, in fact, care about you regardless of what has happened to you. Adrian reminds the listener that divorce gives you the opportunity to rebuild an identity one more authentic to who you are. Tom reinforces the the idea that many aspects of the identity that had been suppressed in order to be part of a team may reemerge and the healing that comes after the tearing apart of the old relationship. Adrian discusses the pleasant and unpleasant surprises that accompany reaching out to friends and family. Tom discusses the dangers of getting "fixed-up" and Adrian talks shares a story of how people were trying to help him become his old self. A transcript of this podcast is available here.
