Friend Forward

You'd call yourself confident. You have high self-esteem. You show up for your people. So a book about worth? That's for someone else… right? That's exactly what Danielle thought before she cracked open Dr. Marisa G. Franco's new book and realized, ten pages in, that she had no idea how much of her own self-worth work she'd been skipping.
In this episode, Danielle sits down with psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Marisa G. Franco to talk about her new book Worth, which she calls the prequel to Platonic. They unpack why unworthiness is really an inability to process love, how performing "goodness" in your friendships actually disconnects you from them, what it looks like when two types of high self-esteem show up in the same friend group, and why the goal isn't "I am worthy;” it's something far more radical.
CHAPTERS:
Why unworthiness makes love slip right off you — even when it's right in front of you
The two types of high self-esteem and why one of them makes you a worse friend
How "being good" trains you to abandon yourself in your friendships
Why forcing a compliment on a friend who rejects it isn't actually love
The difference between bending for a friend and feeling personally compromised
Worth isn't "I am worthy" — it's something more radical than that

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime at: https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/officehours
This week's bonus: Members will access the full, unedited video interview.

ABOUT DR. MARISA G. FRANCO
Dr. Marisa G. Franco is a psychologist, professor at the University of Maryland, and New York Times bestselling author of Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — and Keep — Friends. Her new book, Worth: The New Science of Self-Esteem and Secure Attachment, explores how our relationship with our own feelings shapes every relationship we have, and why self-esteem is a skill, not a fixed trait.
CONNECT WITH DR. FRANCO:
Book, Worth: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/784327/worth-by-marisa-g-franco-phd/
Book, Platonic: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/676695/platonic-by-marisa-g-franco-phd/
Website: https://www.drmarisagfranco.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisagfranco/

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:
Dr. Marisa G. Franco, Worth: The New Science of Self-Esteem and Secure Attachment: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/784327/worth-by-marisa-g-franco-phd/
Dr. Marisa G. Franco, Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — and Keep — Friends: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/676695/platonic-by-marisa-g-franco-phd/

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST
Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours
Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist
Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources
Become a certified relational health coach → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book
Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram
Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok
Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

You know that you need to spend more time with your friends, but as a busy woman over 30, how exactly are you supposed to do that?
In this episode, I'm sharing shocking data from the latest American Time Use Survey for 2025 to see where our time is actually going. Then I'm sharing a solution for how we can reclaim our time.
Note: Access the extended episode as a member of Office Hours.
📚 JOIN THE "SIX WITH FRIENDS" CHALLENGE WAIT LIST
To be one of the first to join the "Six with Friends" Challenge and enjoy a discount and bonus, add your name to the wait list here.

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:
2025 American Time Use Survey: https://www.bls.gov/tus/

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST
Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/officehours
Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist
Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources
Become a certified relational health coach → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book
Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram
Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok
Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

Social capital helps the quality of your friendships, and your friendships impact the quality of your social capital.
Social capital is all about the value you get (and give) in your social network. And regardless of how introverted or extroverted you are, it's something we all need.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:
In this episode of the Friend Forward podcast, we'll look at:
the three components of social capital (relationship, cognitive, and structural)
the benefits of growing your social capital
why talking about social capital feels transactional

Members of our Office Hours Community: You can expect bonus content sharing tangible tactics to improve all three components of your social capital by this weekend!

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime at: https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/
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NYC FRIENDS: UPCOMING EVENT
Danielle Bayard Jackson will be in conversation with Dr. Anne Welsh about the intersection of ambition, motherhood, and friendship at the Veronica Beard shop on Madison Avenue on Thursday, August 27 at 5pm. Email MadisonRSVP@veronicabeard.com to RSVP.
📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:
Breakdown of "social capital" from Dr. Rick Mask:https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/career/what-is-social-capital
Interested in the science of social networks? We love Marissa King's book, Social Chemistry
"I Need You to Survive": The song lyrics Danielle speaks at the end of the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdlrRjzDemg&list=RDWdlrRjzDemg&start_radio=1

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST
Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/officehours
Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist
Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book
Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram
Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok
Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

Platonic wingwomen are the backbone of society.
Some people are reluctant to introduce their friends to one another, but society thrives on it. While it can be nerve-wracking to mix friend groups (we've covered this in a previous episode-- see below), it's a skill we should all have.
In this episode, Danielle shares 4 steps to becoming a charismatic and effective wingwoman for your friends.

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.
TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:
The difference between healthy and unhealthy striving, and which one your ambition is actually fueling
Why thinking of ambition as a ladder is keeping you stuck
The ambition paradox that leaves working mothers depleted no matter how hard they try
What most women get wrong about the village (and the connections they're discounting)
Why your friendships outside of motherhood might matter more than the ones inside it
How to bridge the gap with child-free friends when everyone feels underwater

NYC EVENT 8/27: Danielle Bayard Jackson and Dr. Anne Welsh with be talking about Ambitious Motherhood (and friendship!) at 5pm at the Veronica Beard on Madison Avenue. Want to attend? Email hello@betterfemalefriendships.com to RSVP.

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📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:
Is "friendship poaching" a real thing? Check out one of our previous episodes on this topic: https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/friend-forward-feature
Interested in the science of social networks? We love Marissa King's book, Social Chemistry

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST
Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/officehours
Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist
Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources
Become a certified relational health coach → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book
Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram
Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok
Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

How motherhood changes your closest friendships, with Dr. Anne Welsh
You're crushing it at work, you're showing up for your kids, and you're trying… really trying… to also be a good friend. But the pursuit of excelling in all three keeps leaving you depleted and falling short across the board. And that picture of the village you keep seeing everywhere? The tight-knit crew of women who are all magically available and deeply connected? It might be setting you up to discount the support you already have.
In this episode, Danielle sits down with clinical psychologist and executive coach Dr. Anne Welsh, author of the forthcoming book Ambitious Mother, to talk about what happens when ambition, motherhood, and friendship all compete for the same woman's energy. They dig into the difference between healthy and unhealthy striving, why ambition works better as a web than a ladder, what most women get wrong about the village, and how to maintain friendships with child-free women when everyone feels underwater. Dr. Anne also shares what she sees ambitious women ignoring that costs them the most: their own wants.
🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.
TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:
The difference between healthy and unhealthy striving, and which one your ambition is actually fueling
Why thinking of ambition as a ladder is keeping you stuck
The ambition paradox that leaves working mothers depleted no matter how hard they try
What most women get wrong about the village (and the connections they're discounting)
Why your friendships outside of motherhood might matter more than the ones inside it
How to bridge the gap with child-free friends when everyone feels underwater

NYC EVENT 8/27: Danielle Bayard Jackson and Dr. Anne Welsh with be talking about Ambitious Motherhood (and friendship!) at 5pm at the Veronica Beard on Madison Avenue. Want to attend? Email hello@betterfemalefriendships.com to RSVP.

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ABOUT DR. ANNE WELSH
Dr. Anne Welsh is a clinical psychologist, executive coach, and mother of four. She's the author of Ambitious Mother: From Surviving to Thriving in Your Career and at Home, and her work centers on helping ambitious women shift from overwhelm and perfectionism to healthy striving, without giving up what they actually want.
CONNECT WITH DR. ANNE:
Book, Ambitious Mother: https://www.drannewelsh.com/ambitious-mother-book
Website: https://www.drannewelsh.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drannewelsh/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drannewelsh/

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:
Dr. Anne Welsh, Ambitious Mother: From Surviving to Thriving in Your Career and at Home: https://www.drannewelsh.com/ambitious-mother-book

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST
Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours
Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist
Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources
Become a certified relational health coach → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book
Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram
Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok
Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 — The pull of trying to be everything at once
03:49 — Introducing Dr. Anne Welsh and Ambitious Mother
05:35 — Healthy striving vs. unhealthy striving
07:44 — Ambition as a web, not a ladder
10:54 — The ambition paradox and spreading yourself thin
13:22 — What we get wrong about the village and the value of weak ties
16:14 — Why friendships outside motherhood still matter
20:21 — Honesty, vulnerability, and reconnecting with your wants