22 Celebrated Writers on the Joys & Struggles of Being Alone
by Natalie Eve Garrett
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2022
272 pages
Genre: Essays
Paperback Original.
Publication Information
A collection of essays about the joys and struggles of being alone by 22 literary writers including: Lev Grossman, Jhumpa Lahiri, Lena Dunham, Jesmyn Ward, Yiyun Li, and Anthony Doerr.
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. Some stories are heartbreaking, such as Jesmyn Ward's reckoning with the loss of her husband and Dina Nayeri's reflection on immigrating to a foreign country. Others are witty, such as Lev Grossman's rueful tale of heading to the woods or Anthony Doerr's struggles with internet addiction. Still others celebrate the clarity of solitude, like Claire Dederer's journey toward sobriety and Lidia Yuknavitch's sensual look at desire. Thoughtful and affirming,
Contributors include:
"In this above-average collection of personal essays, a richly diverse set of writers recall how periods of solitude have impacted their lives...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...An absorbing, moving, cathartic collection." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Solitude gets the spotlight in this illuminating anthology...Garrett has made a subject often feared into something uplifting...Fans of the personal essay will want to check this out." - Publishers Weekly
"This profound collection shines light on the different facets of being alone, a condition of modern life that predates the pandemic and will continue beyond. It's a gorgeous, illuminating exploration of the ways in which connection is crucial to survival and creative expression can heal." - Suleika Jaouad, author of Between Two Kingdoms
"Surprising, sly, heart-stopping, celebratory—the essays in The Lonely Stories evoke the gamut of emotions, in the way of isolation itself. A timely, and lasting, collection." - Claire Messud, author of The Burning Girl
This information about The Lonely Stories was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Natalie Eve Garrett is an artist and a writer. She's the editor of Eat Joy: Stories & Comfort Food from 31 Celebrated Writers and The Artists' and Writers' Cookbook: A Collection of Stories with Recipes. A graduate of Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design, Natalie lives with her husband, daughter, and son in a town outside D.C.
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