Upcoming Events at the YMCA of Greenwich

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! 

When life gets tough, we turn to our female friends—until those bonds break. Susan Shapiro Barash, author and professor, challenges the idea that friendships should last forever in her new book, Estranged: How Strained Female Friendships are Mended or Ended. Through extensive research and 150 interviews with women ages 20 to 80, she explores the growing trend of estrangement among female friends. Barash will discuss the impact of unhealthy friendships, why women avoid conflict, and the emotional toll of cutting ties—ultimately reframing estrangement as an act of self-preservation.

Susan Shapiro Barash, author of over a dozen books on women’s relationships and societal roles, also writes fiction as Susannah Marren. A former gender studies professor at Marymount Manhattan College, she has been featured in major media, spoken at leading organizations, and received awards for her leadership and writing. She has served as a literary panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts, a judge for the International Emmys, and Vice Chair of the Mentoring Committee/the Women’s Leadership Board/JFK School of Government, Harvard.