On Loneliness : How to Overcome Isolation and Enjoy Solitude

50 heartfelt photographs and interviews, reflecting on the universal experience of loneliness.

It’s easy to feel that we are alone in feeling alone. Not only do we suffer, but we also destroy our self-confidence with repeated convictions that we are the only ones who are so confused and at sea, the only ones without a partner and who will be alone (again) on Saturday night.

Through fifty touching interviews and captivating portraits by the talented photographer Julia Hawkins, this transformative book uncovers the ways that loneliness touches so many of us. We hear from a diverse array of individuals whose lives have been shaped by isolation – those who feel invisible, misunderstood and alienated, as well as those who have found unexpected paths to understanding and connection.

We come to understand that we are not unique in our solitude, and that being alone is a natural part of the human experience - and so we have every reason to hold out a hand to our similarly complicated, kind and lonely neighbours. 

The School of Life Press brings together the thinking and ideas of The School of Life creative team under the direction of series editor, Alain de Botton.