Book of Love & Friendship: A Guided Journal for Friends & Partners

At its best, journaling fosters a practice of mindfulness and self-reflection, which can help with emotional regulation, inspire transformative thinking, and lead to healthy personal growth. For obvious reasons, it is typically pitched as a solitary pursuit—a private (or even secretive) dip into what you have experienced, what you think and feel, and what, if anything, you might do differently. Given the hectic, fragmented nature of modern life, it is not hard to understand why so many of us seek that one-on-one time with ourselves: as a way to pause and remember who we are and what we want, or as a way to reboot—mentally, emotionally, spiritually. But what if you wanted to make room for a comparable kind of mindful, one-on-one time with someone else in your life? Is there a way to rethink the solitary practice of guided journaling as a shared pursuit, in which two people together, in the process of getting to know themselves, get to know one another? We think so.In the belief that sometimes we benefit from exploring and unpacking our thoughts and feelings in company, this journal is designed for partner work: two voices, two perspectives, and an unfolding conversation on the story of “us.” Whether you are just friends or more than friends, whether your connection is brand new or well-seasoned, this journal invites you to cultivate a shared practice of discovery and appreciation for not just who I am, or who you are, but who we are, together.With eighty prompts organized across four sections exploring interconnected aspects of life and experience (“Mind,” “Body,” “Heart,” and “Soul”), Book of Love & Friendship helps with the heavy lifting of relationship building: providing talking points designed to encourage honest reflection and open sharing, it offers friends, couples, and partners of all kinds a layered journey of discovery. Some prompts will likely spark playful banter and laughter; others invite more thoughtful forays and deep chats. We imagine this book as a friendship gift, a Valentine’s gift, a wedding gift, an anniversary gift, and more, a way to forge and celebrate one-on-one connections in the round. The bottom line: if you are in this together, then be in this together. Read more