Hi! Someone I know has been through something, and I’m wondering if there are any novels that describe a similar type of dynamic. I think it might help her understand what happened, and it would also be interesting to read a story that feels recognisable.
This is her story (I’ll call her M):
M had been close friends with another woman for a very long time. She originally knew this friend through her husband, because her husband and the friend’s ex-husband are best friends. M has three children, and her friend doesn’t have any.
At some point, the friend starts being mean t M. She dismisses her, laughs at her about sensitive things, and eventually even starts treating her as if she’s invisible. When M confronts her about it, she gets gaslit and told that she's overreacting and all is well between them.
Meanwhile, the friend continues visiting M’s husband at his workplace for coffee, and gradually inserts herself more and more into the family. She gives the children expensive gifts, takes them out for dinner, and starts taking on roles that would normally belong to a mother. She slowly wedges herself into the family dynamic, and M can feel it happening, but her husband doesn’t really take it seriously because it all happens in a subtle, under-the-surface way.
The whole situation caused M a huge amount of stress, and thankfully she eventually ended the friendship. She did it through a text message, 'cause she was too stressed to face her again, and the friend never replied, even though they had been friends for 25 years.
It’s such a bizarre story, right? But at the same time, it feels like such a recognisable type of dynamic somehow. I’m hoping there might be a realistic novel about a similar situation.
by SpookyPoek