"I Support Women's Rights and Wrongs"

Do you?

Hey Friends,

I'm a obsessed with the public friendship breakup between Natalie Beach and Caroline Calloway. The've gotten attention lately because both just published books. Ten years ago they met in a writing workshop and, according to Natalie, she devoted herself to helping Caroline on IG and as a ghost writer and editor of Caroline's memoir. Here's a line Natalie wrote for Caroline, "When you find a good editor, never let her go. Same with a good friend." I don't know if Caroline would have said that, but I would.

So what happened?

Caroline got super famous on Instagram, then got a giant advance on a book deal. She ended up spending the money, missing her deadlines, and squandering her book deal, but in the meantime, Natalie was always there, staying up all night working on Caroline's book proposal and shit. The problem, it seems, was Caroline wasn't as devoted to Natalie as Natalie was to Caroline. For example, Natalie got no credit for Caroline's success. Also, Caroline may have lied about some things, like her followers on IG, which she admitted years later she bought. 

When Caroline rebranded as a creativity coach, Natalie got pissed and was like,no you don't get famous again without acknowledging all the work I did for you, and wrote her version of their story for The Cut, in New York Magazine.

Natalie broke a one major code of friendship: loyalty. Caroline broke codes of friendship daily: honesty.

So I was telling my daughter, Tashi, and her best friend (both 19) about the Natalie/Caroline friendship breakup. They knew Caroline Calloway from IG but didn't know about the drama. Tashi's friend jumped up and down, visibly thrilled. I gave her a confused look. She said, "I support women's rights and wrongs."

Okay, that's my new favorite line, but really? Is it okay for a woman to become influential at the expense of other people and even the truth? Do you support women's rights and wrongs?

Our latest stories on our show have nothing to do with female friendship, but they're still great. On Episode 158: Rash Decisions, student, Kim Costigan shows you can learn to become more vulnerable in your writing. Her story is about the moment her mother told the truth about her father's violence. 

Just out, Episode 159: Cliches Saved My Life has a gorgeous story by student Emily Henderson, which is 354 words and shows how you can say so much in very few words. Emily's story is about how she survives the death of a child. 

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See you Saturday and thank you for listening! 

Love, 
Andrea  

P.S. Here are links to Natalie's Book, Adult Drama, (Hanover Square Press) and Caroline's Scammer, (self-published). So far, I read Natalie's book and I thought it was solid, sometimes overwritten, and sometimes boring. Becca Rothfeld from The Washington Postreviewed both and wrote, "(Natalie) Beach is a talented essayist with a promising career ahead of her. (Caroline) Calloway is a lunatic who has already written a masterpiece."