ABSTRACT
Julia Galbus Kiesel’s “Bowing out of Friendship” stems from the longing for direct and honest endings in relationships. Using personal history to illustrate some ways that people disagree and part, she describes her sense of how friendships evolve and sometimes dissipate. It is natural and inevitable that we sometimes find it necessary to shift away from others. The crux is in how people choose to separate, and whether and how it is communicated. In the end, she suggests a metaphorical “bowing out” which respects the human value and independence of the other.
