The Beginner's Guide to Loneliness


Book Description

After a tragic event left Tori Williamson isolated from her loved ones, she's been struggling. That's why she set up her blog, The Beginner's Guide to Loneliness, as a way of anonymously reaching others who just need a little help sometimes. When she's offered a free spot on a wellbeing retreat, Tori is anxious about opening herself up to new surroundings. But after her three closest friends - who she talks to online but has never actually met - convince her it'll do her some good, she reluctantly agrees and heads off for three weeks in the wild (well, a farm in Wales). From the moment she arrives, Tori is sceptical and quickly finds herself drawn to fellow sceptic Than, the retreat's mysterious latecomer. But as the beauty of The Farm slowly comes to light she realizes that opening herself up might not be the worst thing.




The Beginner's Guide to Loneliness


Book Description

The perfect feel-good read from an exciting new voice in women’s fiction, for fans of Heidi Swain, Cathy Bramley and Jenny Colgan. Tori Williamson is alone. After a tragic event left her isolated from her loved ones, she’s been struggling to find her way back to, well – herself. That’s why she set up her blog, The Beginner’s Guide to Loneliness, as a way of – anonymously – connecting with the outside world and reaching others who just need a little help sometimes. When she’s offered a free spot on a wellbeing retreat in exchange for a review on her blog, Tori is anxious about opening herself up to new surroundings. But after her three closest friends – who she talks to online but has never actually met – convince her it’ll do her some good, she reluctantly agrees and heads off for three weeks in the wild (well, a farm in Wales). From the moment she arrives, Tori is sceptical and quickly finds herself drawn to fellow sceptic Than, the retreat’s dark and mysterious latecomer. But as the beauty of The Farm slowly comes to light she realizes that opening herself up might not be the worst thing. And sharing a yurt with fellow retreater Bay definitely isn’t. Will the retreat be able to fix Tori? Or will she finally learn that being lonely doesn’t mean she’s broken . . . Welcome to The Beginner’s Guide to Loneliness! Where you can learn to move mountains by picking up the smallest of stones… ’Sweet, funny, engaging - and underneath the sparkle really rather wise. The perfect tonic for our times.’ VERONICA HENRY, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Wedding at the Beach Hut 'A total hug in book form. Warm-hearted, honest and touching, it’s a beautiful story of love and friendship. I loved it!' MIRANDA DICKINSON, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Day We Meet Again ‘I LOVED it!’ HEIDI SWAIN, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Secret Seaside Escape 'What a read - rollicking fun and emotionally satisfying!' MICHELE GORMAN, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Curvy Girls Club 'This book will leave you with a big smile' MANDY BAGGOT, author of My Greek Island Summer 'An absolute delight!' JUDY ASTLEY, author of It Must Have Been the Mistletoe 'Genuinely moving, beautifully told and really funny!’ CHRISTINA PISHIRIS, author of Love Songs for Sceptics 'Funny, warm and brilliantly uplifting' CLAIRE FROST, author of Living My Best Life 'Getting drawn into the pages of The Beginners Guide to Loneliness is like being drawn into a big soothing hug, right when you need it. Full of warmth, depth and unexpected turns, plus a cast of characters I wish I knew in real life, Laura Bambrey has written a beautiful debut.' LUCY DICKENS, author of The Broken Hearts Honeymoon ‘I absolutely devoured this wonderful story of friendship, romance and learning to love yourself. It was touching, funny and an utterly fabulous read’ HOLLY MARTIN, author of Sunrise Over Sapphire Bay ‘Although it’s a love story, it’s even more a tale of friendship – not just being a friend, but accepting friendship from others, which can be just as difficult . . . I recommend it most highly as a beautifully written guide as to how we should live our lives’ T.A. WILLIAMS, author of Dreaming of Italy




Loneliness, Stress and Well-Being


Book Description

Loneliness can be a terrible experience. Yet, surprisingly counsellors, therapists and professional helpers are rearely taught how to help their clients manage loneliness. Written specially for professional helpers, Loneliness, Stress and Well-Being provides a thorough background to the theories concerning the nature of loneliness and a basic introduction to its management. It describes a simple method of assessing the degree and nature of loneliness and includes invaluable practical strategies for helping clients to manage their social problems.




Friendship in the Age of Loneliness


Book Description

*NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB SUMMER 2021 NOMINEE* After nearly a year of social distancing and lockdown measures, it’s more clear than ever that our friendships and bonds are vital to our health and happiness. This refreshing, positive guide helps you take care of your people and form deep connections in the digital age. We are lonelier than ever. The average American hasn't made a new friend in the last five years. Research has shown that people with close friends are happier, healthier, and live longer than people who lack strong social bonds. But why—when we are seemingly more connected than ever before—can it feel so difficult to keep those bonds alive and well? Why do we spend only four percent of our time with friends? In this warm, inspiring guide, Adam "Smiley" Poswolsky proposes a new solution for the mounting pressures of modern life: focus on your friendships. Smiley offers practical habits and playful reminders on how to create meaningful connections, make new friends, and deepen relationships. He'll help you develop a healthier relationship with technology, but he'll also encourage you to prioritize real-world experiences, send snail mail, and engage in self-reflective exercises. Written in short, digestible, action-oriented sections, this book reminds us that nurturing old and new friendships is a ritual, a necessity, and one of the most worthwhile things we can do in life.




The Long Loneliness


Book Description

The compelling autobiography of a remarkable Catholic woman, sainted by many, who championed the rights of the poor in America’s inner cities. When Dorothy Day died in 1980, the New York Times eulogized her as “a nonviolent social radical of luminous personality . . . founder of the Catholic Worker Movement and leader for more than fifty years in numerous battles of social justice.” Here, in her own words, this remarkable woman tells of her early life as a young journalist in the crucible of Greenwich Village political and literary thought in the 1920s, and of her momentous conversion to Catholicism that meant the end of a Bohemian lifestyle and common-law marriage. The Long Loneliness chronilces Dorothy Day’s lifelong association with Peter Maurin and the genesis of the Catholic Worker Movement. Unstinting in her commitment to peace, nonviolence, racial justice, and the cuase of the poor and the outcast, she became an inspiration to such activists as Thomas Merton, Michael Harrinton, Daniel Berrigan, Ceasr Chavez, and countless others. This edition of The Long Loneliness begins with an eloquent introduction by Robert Coles, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and longtime friend, admirer, and biographer of Dorothy Day.




Loneliness as a Way of Life


Book Description

“What does it mean to be lonely?” Thomas Dumm asks. His inquiry, documented in this book, takes us beyond social circumstances and into the deeper forces that shape our very existence as modern individuals. The modern individual, Dumm suggests, is fundamentally a lonely self. Through reflections on philosophy, political theory, literature, and tragic drama, he proceeds to illuminate a hidden dimension of the human condition. His book shows how loneliness shapes the contemporary division between public and private, our inability to live with each other honestly and in comity, the estranged forms that our intimate relationships assume, and the weakness of our common bonds. A reading of the relationship between Cordelia and her father in Shakespeare’s King Lear points to the most basic dynamic of modern loneliness—how it is a response to the problem of the “missing mother.” Dumm goes on to explore the most important dimensions of lonely experience—Being, Having, Loving, and Grieving. As the book unfolds, he juxtaposes new interpretations of iconic cultural texts—Moby-Dick, Death of a Salesman, the film Paris, Texas, Emerson’s “Experience,” to name a few—with his own experiences of loneliness, as a son, as a father, and as a grieving husband and widower. Written with deceptive simplicity, Loneliness as a Way of Life is something rare—an intellectual study that is passionately personal. It challenges us, not to overcome our loneliness, but to learn how to re-inhabit it in a better way. To fail to do so, this book reveals, will only intensify the power that it holds over us.




Seek You


Book Description

From the acclaimed author of Imagine Wanting Only This—a timely and moving meditation on isolation and longing, both as individuals and as a society. There is a silent epidemic in America: loneliness. Shameful to talk about and often misunderstood, loneliness is everywhere, from the most major of metropolises to the smallest of towns. In Seek You, Kristen Radtke's wide-ranging exploration of our inner lives and public selves, Radtke digs into the ways in which we attempt to feel closer to one another, and the distance that remains. Through the lenses of gender and violence, technology and art, Radtke ushers us through a history of loneliness and longing, and shares what feels impossible to share. Ranging from the invention of the laugh-track to the rise of Instagram, the bootstrap-pulling cowboy to the brutal experiments of Harry Harlow, Radtke investigates why we engage with each other, and what we risk when we turn away. With her distinctive, emotionally-charged drawings and deeply empathetic prose, Kristen Radtke masterfully shines a light on some of our most vulnerable and sublime moments, and asks how we might keep the spaces between us from splitting entirely.




It's Lonely in the Modern World


Book Description

"This comprehensive information-rich guide from the creators to the hugely popluar Web site UnhappyHipsters.com outlines exactly what's require to create a modern home."--Jacket flap.




The Loneliness Epidemic


Book Description

What makes people lonely? And how can Christian communities better minister to the lonely? In The Loneliness Epidemic, behavioral scientist and researcher Susan Mettes explores those questions and more. Guided by current research from Barna Group, Mettes illustrates the profound physical, emotional, and social toll of loneliness in the United States. Surprisingly, her research shows that it is not the oldest Americans but the youngest adults who are loneliest and that social media can actually play a positive role in alleviating loneliness. Mettes highlights the role that belonging, friendship, closeness, and expectations play in preventing it. She also offers meaningful ways the church can minister to lonely people, going far beyond simplistic solutions--like helping them meet new people--to addressing their inner lives and the God who understands them. With practical and highly applicable tips, this book is an invaluable tool for anyone--ministry leaders, parents, friends--trying to help someone who feels alone. Readers will emerge better able to deal with their own loneliness and to help alleviate the loneliness of others. Foreword by Barna Group president David Kinnaman.




Four Seasons of Loneliness


Book Description

A prominent lawyer looks back on his career to explore the moving true stories of four individuals whose lives and law cases were deeply affected by their chronic loneliness.