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ALL GREAT AND PRECIOUS THINGS ARE LONELY
-- John Steinbeck, East of Eden
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nonfiction about loneliness, solitude, loss, and more |
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by Patricia Hampl
As a young girl studying the Baltimore Catechism to prepare for her first confession, Hampl was shocked to learn that daydreaming "this effortless flight of the mind" was a sin. She refused to believe it. In this lucent, tender, and wise memoir, the author celebrates this quiet reflection, which actually requires acute observation and intense, even loving, attention.
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by Fenton Johnson
Johnson's lyrical prose and searching sensibility explores what it means to choose to be solitary and celebrates the notion, common in his Roman Catholic childhood, that solitude is a legitimate and dignified calling.
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by Brenâe Brown
Brown discovered, despite the increasing distractions of contemporary daily life, an innate and persistent need for people to experience a real connection to others and how that need can be compromised by a fear of conflict or intolerance from loved ones or respected peers. She examines the pain of loneliness and how anxiety and uncertainty can undermine focused efforts to engage socially.
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by Natalie Eve Garrett
This collection of intimate, illustrated essays by some of America's most well-regarded literary writers explores how comfort food can help us cope with dark times-be it the loss of a parent, the loneliness of a move, or the pain of heartache.
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by Catherine Raven
Raven built herself a tiny cottage on an isolated plot of land in Montana. She was as emotionally isolated as she was physically, but she viewed the house as a way station, a temporary rest stop where she could gather her nerves and fill out applications for what she hoped would be a real job that would help her fit into society. Then one day she realized that a mangy-looking fox was showing up on her property every afternoon at 4:15 p.m. |
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by Jenn Bane
Insightful, empathetic, and just a touch irreverent, Jenn and Trin give readers the tools they need to make new friends and revitalize the quality of existing friendships.
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by Tom Segura
After a few years of crazy tours and churning out podcasts weekly, all while parenting two young children, Segura desperately needs a second to himself. It's not that he hates his friends and family -- he's not a monster -- he's just beat, which is why his son's (ruthless) first full sentence, "I'd like to play alone, please," has since become his mantra.
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by Kieran Setiya
There is no cure for the human condition: life is hard. But Kieran Setiya believes philosophy can help. He offers us a map for navigating rough terrain, from personal trauma to the injustice and absurdity of the world.
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by Olivia Laing
You can be lonely anywhere, but there is a particular flavor to the loneliness that comes from living in a city, surrounded by thousands of strangers.
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by Aimâee Lutkin
Lutkin wondered, Why, when there are more unmarried adults than ever before, is there so much pressure to couple up? Why does everyone treat me as though my real life won't start until I find a partner? Isn't this my real life, the one I'm living right now? Is there something wrong with me, or is there something wrong with our culture?
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by Natalie Eve Garrett
If you're feeling lonely or if you've ever felt unseen, if you're emboldened by solitude or secretly longing for it- Welcome to The Lonely Stories . This cathartic collection of essays illuminates an experience that so few of us openly discuss.
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by Richard Louv
Our Wild Calling explores these powerful and mysterious bonds (between humans and nature and animals) and how they can transform our mental, physical, and spiritual lives, (and) serve as an antidote to the growing epidemic of human loneliness.
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by Jeremy Nobel
Even before 2020, chronic loneliness was a private experience of profound anguish that had become a public health crisis. Since then it has reached new heights. Loneliness assumes many forms, from enduring physical isolation to feeling rejected because of difference, and it can have devastating consequences for our physical and mental health.
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by Susan J. Noonan
Although spending time alone for short periods may be restorative and helpful, unintentional or involuntary isolation can have profound detrimental effects on emotional and physical health. We all need social interaction and meaningful relationships in our lives to be well and thrive. Without them, we flounder.
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by Shoji Morimoto
Morimoto was constantly being told that he was a 'do-nothing' because he lacked initiative. Dispirited and unemployed, it occurred to him that if he was so good at doing nothing, perhaps he could turn it into a business. And with one tweet, he began his business of renting himself out to do nothing. |
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by Sarah Wilson
Many of us are living with the sense that things are not right with the world and are in a state of spiritual PTSD. We have retreated, morally and psychologically; we are experiencing a crisis of disconnection -- from one another, from our true values, from joy, and from life as we feel we are meant to be living it.
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by Vivek Hallegere Murthy
The former Surgeon General addresses the overlooked epidemic of loneliness as the underpinning to the current crisis in mental wellness and offers solutions to create connection and stresses the importance of community to counteract the forces driving us to depression and isolation.
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by Katherine May
An intimate, revelatory book exploring the ways we can care for and repair ourselves when life knocks us down. May models an active acceptance of sadness and finds nourishment in deep retreat, joy in the hushed beauty of winter, and encouragement in understanding life as cyclical, not linear.
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by Mary Bray Pipher
Pipher offers a timely examination of the cultural and developmental issues women face as they age. She explores ways women can cultivate resilient responses to the challenges they face. Pipher writes, "we will experience a joyous time of our lives -- if we have planned carefully and packed properly, if we have good maps and guides, the journey can be transcendent."
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by Morgan Parker
Dubbed a voice of her generation, poet and writer Morgan Parker has spent much of her adulthood in therapy, trying to square the resonance of her writing with the alienation she feels in nearly every aspect of life, from her lifelong singleness to a battle with depression.
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