Author Carissa Foo shares the 7 stereotypical friends we all have

Friends, loss and support are all themes beautifully displayed in Carissa Foo's latest novel, What We Learned From Driving in Winter. Like her characters, Carissa surrounds herself with many supportive girlfriends—all with very different personalities—sharing seven of those with us below. Honestly, we all have at least one of these friends. All tea, no shade.

1. The Optimist Friend

who is always hopeful. Each time I pine for a ghostly ex, she reminds me that there are seven billion people in this world. What’s so hard about finding one?

2. The Unemotional Friend

who replies “OK” to all messages. Once I sent a twenty-liner lamentation to her and she texted back “OK.” As if I had asked her if she wanted bubble tea or something. The good thing about the unemotional friend is she is always fair, treating all my messages and problems equally.

3. The Generous Friend

who buys happiness. During my graduate school days, when I was miserable about having to spend the Chinese New Year in the U.K., a generous friend transferred monies for a ticket to Singapore without flinching. The same friend gives me angpows on my birthday.

4. The Astrologer Friend

who speaks star language to earthly concerns. She justifies my inaction and failings with some rising moon or retrograding planet. That there is something larger out there, something else to be blamed so I may be absolved.

 5. The Academic Friend

who thinks it is okay to overthink. We think about the ways in which people think we are overthinking; and after many years of thinking, we think that there is no such thing as overthinking. You think or you don’t think. At least, we think so.

 6. The Childhood Friend

who is actually a cousin. Blood may be thicker than water. Both of us are B+, after all. 

 7. The Best Friend

who knows that there are more than one of her around. That everybody needs more than one friend to bring out the best in us.

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Celebrate Women's Day with us! For this week, 7 March - 13 March, 10% of all our proceeds from our online bookshop epigrambookshop.sg and our pop-up at SAM will be donated to AWARE Singapore. #BreaktheBias

 So while you're at it, preorder Carissa's new novel here.