Comparing Toosky Hierot's answer to my original attempt in Writing critique request: Zhou Ziwang loses weight, just like everyone else nowadays, we have:
me: ...连朋友都没告诉过...
Toosky Hierot: ...即便是朋友也没有告诉过...
I think both mean:
Even [my] friends, [I] did not tell.
I'm not sure if there's any difference here, aside from perhaps writing style. We've opted for different grammar constructs: 连...都... vs. 即便...也... which I think is the same as 即使...也... (which seems to necessitate the 是).
Question: Is there a difference between 连朋友都没告诉过 and 即便是朋友也没有告诉过?