Heather Dugan is the author of "The Friendship Upgrade" (Headline Books, 2019), which illuminates the growing issue of personal isolation and equips women to trade clickable connections for friendships that matter. It identifies our need for relationship in relatable, empathetic terms and provides both a roadmap to creating anchoring connections and a model for building community with the women around us. Finding a friend is good, but teaching a woman to grow friendships will change her life and the lives of all around her.

Previous books include: Date Like a Grownup: Anecdotes, Admissions of Guilt & Advice Between Friends (finalist in the 2015 USA Book Awards and 2015 Indie Next Generation Book Awards) which examines the impact of loneliness and social obsolescence on men and women in their second single lives and provides punctuating proof that looking for love from a place of isolation is as unwise as grocery shopping on an empty stomach; "Pickup in Aisle Twelve," "a lively romp through the adventures of mid-life dating;" and "Stuffing Sandwiches Down my Shirt", a surgeon-recommended guide to conquering challenges, fighting isolation, and living well during recovery from surgery.

Founder/Director of Cabernet Coaches®, an "all ages, all stages" community access and self-betterment group for women, Heather is also a speaker/discussion facilitator on topics pertaining to dating, relationships, and effective interpersonal communication and connection. She has also worked as a professional voiceover talent for more than twenty-five years. Dedicated to high impact, face-to-face friendship as a means of change, Ms. Dugan's videos, articles and books promote meaningful connection and proactive decision-making with a twist of humor and the affirming good nature of a friend who has traveled the same road.

An Indiana University alumna, Heather resides in Columbus, Ohio, but is an avid traveler and outdoor enthusiast who keeps hiking poles and her passport within easy reach. The proud mom of three adult children, she blogs about relationships, transitions, and better living at Tips from the Tightrope on her author website. Find her on Facebook, Instagram, at Cabernet Coaches or at www.heatherduganauthor.com.

tips by Heather