The Lonely Stories

January 17, 2022
Solitude gets the spotlight in this illuminating anthology, brought together by writer Garrett (Eat Joy: Stories & Comfort Food from 31 Celebrated Writers). In “At the Horizon,” Maggie Shipstead isolates herself in order to write a novel; while spending eight months alone on Nantucket, she wonders whether she is turning solitude into contentment or armor. In “Letting Go,” Maya Shanbhag Lang recounts the loneliness she felt after taking in her mother, who was suffering from dementia, while Emily Raboteau writes in “Exodus, 2020” of the “particular loneliness” wrought by the pandemic in New York City, astutely pointing out that “there are many ways to be lonely. Even in a crowd.” Megan Giddings describes in “Brief Important Moments Where I Was the Only Person on Earth” instances of joy that can be found solo, like being the only person in a movie theater. In bringing together the wide range of perspectives, Garrett has made a subject often feared into something uplifting: “While loneliness can be devastating, I find it deeply moving that it can also function as a portal to beauty and discovery,” she writes in the introduction. Fans of the personal essay will want to check this out. Agent: Jody Kahn, Brandt & Hochman.

April 22, 2022
One thing is certain: we are not alone in our loneliness. In this absolute must-read essay collection, 22 writers, including Anthony Doerr, Lena Dunham, Imani Perry, and Amy Shearn, reflect on their experiences with feeling lonely. Their aloneness is sometimes physical, whether in isolation or on a solo trip. But it can also take the form of that constant emptiness many of us endure during circumstances that leave us without support. Writers here describe being lonely in an unhappy marriage, lost in a racial divide, contending with a complex medical condition, losing someone physically or emotionally, or struggling with the conundrum of being more digitally in touch than ever yet not truly connecting. Women's stories dominate and point to a particular loneliness in a society that "expect[s] women to hold everything and everyone together, socially and emotionally." But being alone can be empowering, as Megan Giddings relays in her descriptions of solitary movie excursions; as Helena Fitzgerald recounts in her thoughts about the freedom found in living on her own; and as Melissa Febos shares in her piece about learning to enjoy being alone instead of always running toward other people. Serving at once as a how-to, therapy, and a literary companion, this collection will bring light to readers.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from February 1, 2022
Writers reflect on their experiences of loneliness and solitude. In this above-average collection of personal essays, a richly diverse set of writers recall how periods of solitude have impacted their lives. Depending on their past or present circumstances, they evoke sensations of dread or despair, joy and enlightened freedom, often working through their darkest emotions to discover a renewed sense of well-being. "I was drawn to essays about the quiet delights of solitude and the shocks of isolation, as well as reflections on the gentler waves of loneli-ness that come and go throughout our lives," writes Garrett. "I longed to create a harbor for our most vulnerable stories, told with urgency and sometimes with levity--affirming stories that might reas-sure and reconnect us. Most of all, I hoped to shine light on a universal emotion and experience that is often pushed down into the dark." Each essay, most of which are memorable, offers a meaningful glimpse into the varying depths of loneliness. "Javelinas" is Claire Dederer's account of her six-week writer's residency in Marfa, Texas, where she confronted her all-consuming issues with alcoholism. In "Exodus 2020," Emily Raboteau hauntingly recounts a sorrowful sense of impending loss and doom caused by the mass departure of a New York City apartment building's tenants during the pandemic. Lena Dunham examines her evolving feelings of aloneness during the breakup of a long-term relationship. Yiyun Li's "To Speak Is To Blunder but I Venture" and Jean Kwok's "The Perpetual Foreigner" movingly reflect on their personal journeys and struggles as Chinese immigrants; the loneliness of forfeiting one's native language; and the sense of freedom in allowing one's ambition to flower. It's been well noted that writing can be a lonely endeavor, but this book demonstrates that great illumination can be found in the process. Other contributors include Maggie Shipstead, Lev Grossman, Anthony Doerr, Peter Ho Davies, Jesmyn Ward, and Melissa Febos. An absorbing, moving, cathartic collection.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.