The pandemic impacted relationships in ways that I think many of us are still trying to figure out. We didn’t see family or friends for months or even more than a year. Our kids left school one day and didn’t return, and for some of us, our worlds shrank. For other people, their world expanded. There was easier access to events because of Zoom, easier doctor’s appointments because of telehealth, and greater general accessibility as things shifted online. Our relationships changed; some for the better, some for the worse, and others merely evolved into something new. The impact on relationships has been something I’ve been thinking about a lot, especially now that things are opening back up. My son is going to camp after being out of in-person school for more than a year, and it’s been interesting to see how all of the kids relate to each other now. The parents joke about it, but there’s an undercurrent of anxiety or sadness underneath our laughter. For me personally, I’ve always been independent — sometimes too independent, but this year has shown me how important relationships are. Here are some books about relationships — from romantic ones to family and professional to personal — and how they impact our lives in different ways. I was originally going to group them by theme, but I realized that in many ways, the different kinds of relationships in these books overlap — and of course they do, because life is that way, too. If you want more books about relationships, check out this post about graphic memoirs and relationships, and this post about strengthening your romantic relationship through reading.