Saturday, March 7, 2026

What to do when your mates disappoint you

That is an version of The Marvel Reader, a publication through which our editors suggest a set of tales to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Join right here to get it each Saturday morning.

A number of years in the past, my colleague Olga Khazan shared a radical proposition: What if we stopped firing our buddies? The friendship breakup has develop into a characteristic of contemporary life: On-line, recommendation abounds on “how one can aggressively confront, and even abandon, buddies who disappoint us,” Olga famous. However what if one other answer exists? As a substitute of firing your mates, psychologists informed her, it helps to increase your circle, permitting extra individuals to give you various kinds of assist or camaraderie: “Reasonably than resting on one pillar, wholesome friendship is healthier imagined as crowd-surfing—many palms holding you up,” Olga writes.

The magic of friendship is in its murkiness: We meet a brand new good friend, make room for them in our lives, and typically come to depend on them greater than we ever anticipated. However in contrast to in different relationships, speaking our wants isn’t the norm in friendships—which supplies our buddies extra alternatives to disappoint us. As we speak’s publication explores what to do when your mates aren’t providing you with what you want.

On Friendship Disappointments

That’s It. You’re Useless to Me.

By Kaitlyn Tiffany

Abruptly everyone seems to be “poisonous.” (From 2022)

Learn the article.

Cease Firing Your Associates

By Olga Khazan

Simply make extra of them. (From 2023)

Learn the article.

The Six Forces That Gasoline Friendship

By Julie Beck

I’ve spent greater than three years interviewing buddies for “The Friendship Information.” Right here’s what I’ve realized. (From 2022)

Learn the article.


Nonetheless Curious?


Different Diversions


PS

A pink sunset over the water
Courtesy of Pnina Vibrant

I not too long ago requested readers to share a photograph of one thing that sparks their sense of awe on this planet. Pnina Vibrant, 72, shared this picture from Sag Harbor Cove in New York. “I stroll my canine previous this cove one or two instances every day, and I’ve seen some exceptional sunsets from this view. This one astounded me and I haven’t stopped it with amazement,” Vibrant writes.

I’ll proceed to characteristic your responses within the coming weeks.

— Isabel

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