From the outside, your life looks full. Why does something still feel off?
Somewhere in the years of building careers and families, the friendships quietly thinned out. Most of us never noticed until we needed them.
We were taught how to build resumes, not relationships.
So if friendship feels hard as an adult, you're not broken. You just weren't taught this. The good news? It can be learned.
A new book by Chris Carey · Coming Fall 2026
The New Rules of Friendship
How to Build Lasting Connections in a World Designed for Loneliness
Why I'm Writing This
I once believed I was a good friend. Then a few of the friendships I'd leaned on the hardest quietly faded, and I had to face it. As it turns out, I'd been a shitty friend and didn't even know it. The ones I thought were rock solid were mostly surface. I didn't know how to show up for the people in my life in the ways that actually mattered.
Nobody had ever taught me. I wish someone had shown me earlier how to be intentional, how to listen instead of waiting for my turn to talk, how to show up when things got hard. I'm writing this now because I'm still learning. But I'm no longer hiding from the lessons.
This isn't a book from a friendship expert. It's a book from someone who got it wrong, wants to get it right, and is inviting you to come along.
A Few of the Rules
The book is built around a set of rules for adult friendship. They're not commandments. They're the things I wish someone had handed me ten years ago, when I needed them most. Here are four of them:
Be intentional.
Friendship doesn't happen by accident anymore.
You go first.
Someone has to break the silence. Let it be you.
Lead with grace.
Most people aren't pulling away on purpose. They're just as busy, and just as unsure.
Your spouse can't be your only friend.
It's an easy trap to fall into, and a hard one to climb out of.
And more.
Join the Launch Team
I'm writing this with a small circle of people, not in isolation. Beta readers, early supporters, folks who want to share it with the people they love.
If you've read this far and something in you said yes, I'd love to have you in.
Or email me directly at chris@chriscarey.vision