I don't think there's any great mystery to writing female characters, so long as you talk to them. If you lived in a monastery and never met any women, maybe it would be difficult.
“Every human being must find his own way to cope with severe loss, and the only job of a true friend is to facilitate whatever method he chooses.”
“If the work is going well and it's something that has value with some meaning to it, it gives back a lot.”