Relationships Archives

JD Vance’s Sister: Lindsay’s Shocking Appalachian Childhood

What is JD Vance’s sister Lindsay Vance like in Hillbilly Elegy? How do she and Vance cope with an abusive mother and a town that prizes violence and devalues education? Hillbilly Elegy sets out to explore the struggles of the rural white working class in 21st-century America through the personal story of its author, JD Vance. Learn how JD Vance and his sister Lindsay Vance overcome the odds and achieve lives of success and respectability outside of the hillbilly culture from which they came—but at a heavy personal cost, and with many struggles along the way.

How We Rely on Transactive Memory in Relationships and Work

What is transactive memory? How does it work, and how does it depend on your relationships? Transactive memory is the process of relying on the people we have close relationships with to hold information for us. We often depend on transactive memory becomes our own individual memories have limited space. We’ll cover how the transactive memory system works and why it makes small groups and companies functions better.

Weak Ties: Why You Need Them, Especially in Business

We don’t think of weak ties as good things–aren’t lasting friendships and deep connections what matter? We’ll cover why weak ties are important, especially in business and marketing. Learn why you should have a “connector,” someone with many weak ties, on your team.

Meeting with the Goddess: The Hero’s Journey, Stage 7 (Explained)

What is stage 7 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? What does the “meeting with the goddess” signify? The meeting with the goddess is the stage of the hero’s journey when the hero encounters the goddess, the mother figure who is the epitome of beauty and represents the feminine ideal in all its aspects. The meeting with the goddess is stage 7 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. We’ll cover what the meeting with the goddess entails and look at an example of a hero meeting with the goddess.

Atonement with the Father: Hero’s Journey, Stage 9 (Explained)

What is stage 9 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? What is the significance of the “atonement with the father”? The atonement with the father is the stage of the hero’s journey in which the hero meets the figure of a fearsome father-god whom the hero must either overcome or reconcile with. The atonement with the father is stage 9 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. We’ll cover what the atonement with the father entails and look at two examples of this stage of the hero’s journey.

Trevor Noah’s Dog Fufi, and Why She Broke His Heart

Who was Fufi? What happened when young Trevor Noah, Fufi, and a neighbor got into an ownership conflict? And how did Fufi cause Noah’s first broken heart? Fufi was Trevor Noah’s childhood dog. Here’s what Trevor Noah’s dog Fufi can teach you about love, relationships, and letting go.

Faye Westover: Tara’s Cruel, Anti-Medicine Mother

Who is Faye Westover? What is Faye’s relationship with her daughter Tara like? And why isn’t Tara Westover currently in contact with her mother? Faye Westover is the fictional name Tara Westover gives her mother in her memoir Educated. We’ll look at Faye Westover’s relationship with the author and cover parts of Educated that might indicate why Tara no longer has a relationship with her mother.

Trevor Noah and Teddy: Shoplifting Best Friends

Who is Teddy in Trevor Noah’s memoir Born a Crime? And what can the story of Trevor Noah, Teddy, and the shoplifting bust tell us about the judgments we make based on skin color? Teddy was one of Trevor Noah’s childhood best friends. The construct of black versus white blinds people to anyone who doesn’t fit those molds. If you don’t identify as black or white, others’ failure to see you can leave you feeling invisible and inconsequential. But occasionally, this can work to your advantage. Learn how Trevor Noah let his invisibility work for him.

Trevor Noah’s Father Robert: Once Estranged, Reunited

Who is Trevor Noah’s father? How did they lose touch? And what impact did he have on the comedian’s life? Trevor Noah’s father is Robert Noah, a Swiss-German who opened one of the first integrated restaurants in Johannesburg during apartheid. Learn how Trevor Noah’s parents met, how Trevor lost touch with his father, and how they reunited through Trevor’s valiant efforts.

Trevor Noah and Babiki: A Hilarious First Date

Who is Babiki in Noah’s memoir Born a Crime? What can the story of Trevor Noah, Babiki, and the big dance teach us about the sometimes negative consequences of a country with 11 official languages? And how bad can a first date get? Babiki was Trevor Noah’s first date, whom he took the big matric dance, which is the equivalent of a high school prom in America. First dates are typically awkward, and love can be a language all its own, and a hard one to learn. Let’s look at how learning the language of romance is complicated by South