Dear Nina: The Childhood Friendships That Shaped Us

Have you ever stopped to acknowledge the profound impact of your childhood friendships, even the most casual and fleeting ones, on your adult identity? This week's episode is a re-share of Kristin's interview with Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship; a discussion that shows how nostalgia for our childhoods is helpful when discovering who we are today. Carolyn and Michelle help introduce the episode with their own discoveries, too -- friends who mirrored their complicated family situations, friends who showed them what wealth really looks like -- we all have people from our pasts who helped us learn about ourselves.

Here's what Dear Nina has to say about this episode: Walk down memory lane with Kristin Nilsen, a middle-grade fiction writer and co-host of The Pop Culture Preservation Society Podcast, as we scrutinize our early social interactions and their lasting influence. We acknowledge the importance of these friendships, even those that were temporary, and appreciate the roles they played in shaping us. We also take a quick nostalgic dive into the central friendship themes in our favorite childhood books from Charlotte’s Web to The Secret Garden to The Babysitter’s Club series and the Sweet Valley High series. Special shoutout to Braeside Elementary School and the many classmates who made my childhood so special."

Many thanks to Dear Nina for the opportunity, the conversation, and for the friendship!