Several years ago, I had a huge falling out with one of my best friends. So huge, in fact, that now I can't even remember what happened. In the past nine years, I've seen her twice, and each time we've been polite but distant. And that troubles me because we were once inseparable. I'd like nothing more than to go back nine years, and continue our friendship. But how? How do you reconnect with friends you've lost throughout the years? Linking to your past The desire to reconnect with lost friends isn't unusual. Why? Because friends link us to the past. " _ ," says Sandy Sheehy. Although you can share information about your past with friends you've met recently, you don't have a shared history with them. So you wind up only telling them about your past, rather than sharing it with them. But many people never try to reconnect. Women especially have trouble taking the first step. Shyness or fear that the other person doesn't want to reconnect often stops many women. And that shouldn't be. Your friends probably want to be in touch with you as much as you want to be in touch with them. Searching for friends Fortunately, finding lost friends isn't as difficult as it once was, thanks to tools like the Internet. Our experts offer these suggestions for locating contact information: Search Internet sites designed to locate people like classmates.com and switchboard.com. Contact your high school or college alumni   office to request current address information. Surf online yellow pages. Check current phone records from your friend's hometown. Network with other friends who might have known your friend. Get in touch with any of her relatives, if you know where they live. If you know where she works, find the company's website and search the directory of personnel. What makes us unwilling to reconnect old friends?
Lack of money. Busy time. Regret and shame. Fear and shyness.