Lonely: Learning to Live with Solitude

I bought this book based on the good reviews, and so I felt I had to offer my own opinion after reading it. Well, after reading SOME of it...I didn't finish this book. The personal story interspersed w/ the factual research did not work for me. First, I'm not interested in what some lawyer found while researching the topic. I'm a lawyer, but have a psychology background, too, and I found her discussion of the topic to lack depth and insight. She recites the research and then gives her opinion, but, quite honestly, her perspective is limited and not interesting. Second, her personal story was engaging enough for the first 100 or so pages to inspire me to wade thru the research she recites, and I think it would have been a much better book if she just stuck to her own personal experience, but eventually I lost interest even in that. I found her self-analysis to be wooden and, again, lacking sufficient depth for me. The human psyche is incredibly complex and interesting, and I think there is so much more going on here than she captures. For example, I think different personality types would interpret her research and her experiences differently -- she seems like a 6 on the ennegram, and therefore is more likely to see separation as a threat to survival. A 4 on the ennegram, however, sees being separate as being special. A 4 would have a problem with separation, but it wouldn't trigger the type of fear that she describes. Someone with a psychology background might have probed her experience a little deeper before making conclusions that are not generally applicable. Plus, she seemed to just scratch the surface - at least from the part I read. Whatever -- I hope she ended up happy and satisfied. I can't recommend that you buy this book, however.

I picked up this book because I love memoirs and to explore my own deep loneliness. It's definitely less memoir and more scientific which is good because loneliness is a hard subject to grasp and she explains the different types of loneliness as well as the differences between depression, loneliness, introvertedness, etc.I appreciated the scientific part of the book but I definitely would've preferred it to be more memoir and personal but that's just personal preference. I really like the part where she explains that once you get to the point of being anti-social, it's like a deeper hole and you get even more anti-social and that becomes your new comfort zone. I applaud Emily White for writing a book and shedding light on this subject. It's quite scary to admit to close friends/family about this much less write a book and get it published.

I'm only near the beginning of the book but I'm finding it fascinating, oddly feeling like it's filling in my memory of earlier times, like piecing together her life is helping me piece together mine. I like this book. The author writes with passion. Intriguing.

I wanted this book to be a personal account of someone's journey through loneliness and how it impacts one's life. And while personal insights were interspersed, I found the research and re-telling of previous studies to be redundant. The author semd rather rigid and detached from her ailment.

It is a nice to have someone talk from their own perspective and weave in the research, but some ideas were over presented and duplicated throughout the book. As some other reviewers have suggested, it could have used some more thoughtful editing.

I don't like writing reviews. Just giving stars.

Emily White's story is interesting, amazing, and little heartbreaking. Mostly because it's likely repeated by millions of people. Can be finished in one day with some effort, and the easiest way to understand what's happening to the minds of people who are isolated from their emotions.

this book has helped me to cope with the situation at hand in a way like no other. I would highly recommend this read in order to get through a lonely existence and make it richer.

It is a very well wrote book. I have suffered lonelness for a large part of my life, What Emily had wrote really put into some . Alot of my friends I have had in my life have been very lonely so I understand from their point as well. IT is worth buying

The book is a masterwork on lonliness. You may learn a little about the condition although if you are already lonely you will know most of this, you will certainly feel lonely and depressed after reading the book. There is no help/advice about learning to live with solitude so if you're looking for something to tell you what to do to become less lonely this is not the book for you.

I have been lonely for many years and this book really touched me deep inside and made me realise how many of the difficulties I have and have had could be traced to being lonely. This book is helpful for anyone who has felt lonely for a long time. It reassures you that you are not crazy for feeling the way you do!

So glad I purchased this book. A very good read for anyone feeling this way. Easy to read and feelings fully explained.

This is a fascinating account of a condition that probably divides most of us; those who recognize the state and those who do not. White is well informed as experienced, though at times the writing becomes pailfully detailed , as though she writes every single word of her train of thought.