Lonely: A Memoir

( 13 )
Hardcover
$20.85
BN.com price
$25.99 List Price (Save 20%)
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$1.33
$25.99 List Price (Save 95%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (21)  
Used (11)  
New (10)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 3
Showing 1 – 10 of 21 (3 pages)
$1.33
(Save 95%)
Buybreak
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(359)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

New
New Book, Unread, May have some shelf wear or remainder mark. Prompt shipping, buy with confidence.

Ships from: Deer Park, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.38
(Save 95%)
Horizon Books OH
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(3953)

Condition: New
New Book and Cover in Excellent Condition

Ships from: Cleveland, OH

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.45
(Save 94%)
ericbooks
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(1)

Condition: New
Hardcover New 0061765090 Brand New Condition.

Ships from: Spotswood, NJ

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 92%)
GreenEarthBooks
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(4878)

Condition: Good
Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and ... Reuse! Read more Show Less

Ships from: Portland, OR

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 92%)
GWBooks
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(60)

Condition: Acceptable
A readable copy. All pages and cover are intact. Dust jacket is torn or missing. The book has moderate to heavy wear. This book does not appear to have any writing or other ... markings. Slightly yellowed pages. Dust jacket is slightly scuffed and dirty. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Vancouver, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Express, 48 States
$2.14
(Save 92%)
New Chapter Recycling
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(3293)

Condition: Very Good

Ships from: Lakewood, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$4.70
(Save 82%)
Extremely_Reliable
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(3210)

Condition: Acceptable
Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.

Ships from: Richmond, TX

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$4.94
(Save 81%)
Cloud 9 Books FL
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(1680)

Condition: New
Hardcover New 0061765090 New, Perfect Condition. Ships within 24 hours and all purchases are guaranteed or your money back.

Ships from: West Palm Beach, FL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$4.99
(Save 81%)
BBS Books
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(3261)

Condition: Like New
0061765090 Great Book at a Great Value. Our Customer Feedback rating speaks for itself. We take pride in our customer service. Some of our book may have a publisher mark. Ships ... from TN. Read more Show Less

Ships from: JEFFERSON CITY, TN

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$4.99
(Save 81%)
blessingbookstore
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(11)

Condition: Very Good
2010 Hard cover Very good in very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 338 p. Audience: General/trade. new book

Ships from: miami, FL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 3
Showing 1 – 10 of 21 (3 pages)
Close
Sort by
NOOK Book (eBook)
$10.99
BN.com price

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

More About This Book

Overview

This boldly honest and elegantly written memoir reveals the painful and sometimes debilitating experience of living with chronic loneliness—the first book of its kind devoted exclusively to the subject.

Despite having a demanding job, good friends, and a supportive family, Emily White spent many of her evenings and weekends alone at home, trying to understand why she felt so disconnected from everyone. To keep up the façade of an active social life and to hide the painful truth, the successful young lawyer often lied to those around her—and to herself. She was suffering from severe loneliness.

In this insightful, soul-baring, and illuminating memoir, White reveals her battle to understand and overcome this crippling condition, and contends that chronic loneliness deserves the same attention as other mental difficulties such as depression. "Right now, loneliness is something few people are willing to admit to," she writes. "There's no need for this silence, no need for the shame and self-blame it creates. There's nothing wrong with loneliness, and we need to start acknowledging this through a wider and more open discussion of the state."

Interweaving her personal story with the latest in cutting-edge scientific research—as well as the incredibly moving accounts offered by numerous lonely men and women—White provides a deep and thorough portrait of this increasingly common but too often ignored affliction. By investigating the science of loneliness, challenging its stigma, encouraging other lonely people to talk about their experiences, and setting out one person's struggle, Lonely redefines how we look at loneliness and helps those who are afflicted understand their mood in an entirely new light, ultimately providing solace and hope.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
On the face of things, White seemed to have it all: caring friends, a loving family, and a challenging and fulfilling job. She juggled her roles as confidante, daughter, sister, and lawyer competently. Yet despite the structure and busyness of her days, despite the company of her friends and family, she was an intensely lonely woman. Unable to understand her debilitating failure to connect, she thought of it first as a personal problem. The embarrassment she felt at her inability to "fix" it merely caused a redoubling of her efforts to maintain the façade of a happy life. Ashamed, she became afraid that the severity of her loneliness was trivialized and deemed unimportant.

Research has shown that loneliness has a genetic component, and when enjoined with early isolation in childhood, as in White's, the outcome is fairly predictable. Chronic loneliness is no longer seen as a "mood" but as an affliction to be treated with the same care and seriousness as depression. And its impact isn't solely emotional —untreated, it can undermine the body, lead to dementia, and sucker-punch the immune system.

With the same precision and honesty that made The Noonday Demon so memorable, Lonely is a brave and encouraging look at an affliction shrouded in shame and thoughtlessly dismissed. With compassion and insight, White recounts her experience in order to help fellow strugglers find the comfort and motivation necessary to overcome their own loneliness.

Jezebel.com
“[A]n impassioned call to arms on behalf of a condition no one wants to talk about.”
More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
Publishers Weekly
An astonishingly forthright work by a Canadian lawyer traces her painful personal journey through chronic loneliness in light of social taboos and changing cultural and medical notions. White can pinpoint the origin of her sense of loneliness to the early divorce of her parents, leaving her with long stretches of being home by herself as her two much older sisters and working mother were absent. She recognized later that her mother, too, had battled a self-imposed isolation, underscoring a genetic component to the state. Moreover, the author’s choice of practicing specialized law in a small Toronto firm provided her long hours in the office and little outside contact. Her loneliness, she found, became increasingly self-perpetuating: rejecting invitations, eschewing connections, and generally refusing to participate “in life in the way that it was meant to be lived.” The stigma of being lonely kept her from admitting her state for years (compounded by her inability to come out about being gay until she was 35); finally, she spoke with a sympathetic therapist and opened a blog to hear views from others. White plunged into research on the subject, revealing studies about the alienating nature of modern society and the health risks of chronic loneliness. White’s work is brutally honest as she emphasizes that loneliness is not the same as depression. (Mar.)
Kirkus Reviews
For research lawyer White (Law and Society/Memorial Univ.), loneliness was not a transient mood but a life condition with crushing implications. Loneliness affected the author early on in life, with her fears of empty places, especially her home after school-siblings out, mother at work, father a weekend dad through divorce. White experienced the afternoons as a frightening isolation, just when she was starting to define herself as an individual. The author approaches her sophisticated inquiry from a variety of angles: biological, cultural, social and psychological. In the medical world, loneliness is an ambiguous condition, only now becoming recognized as a distinct state of being. There have been studies about its genetic basis, as well as its physical debilitations, such as lowered immunity, premature aging and high blood pressure-all of which are easy to understand as White painstakingly sets about detailing her persistent sense of isolation, lack of intimacy and embarrassment. "Loneliness," she writes, "at the start of the wired-up twenty-first century, was so totally nowhere, so crushingly uncool." The author was both beseeching and incredulous at the existential absurdity of it all-"As my need for others intensified, I began to retreat from them." When social situations presented themselves, she became stressed at interacting, so she would spend more time alone. The power of White's story comes from the sweeping investment she has made in tracking and tackling her loneliness-an investment that has included Jungian analysis, hypnotherapy, bowling clubs, bike trips, Internet dating and much more. White makes the case that loneliness deserves attention and respect as a legitimatecondition. Agent: Suzanne Brandreth/The Cooke Agency

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780061765094
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 3/9/2010
  • Pages: 338
  • Sales rank: 1,200,704
  • Product dimensions: 5.60 (w) x 8.30 (h) x 1.30 (d)

Meet the Author

Emily White is a former lawyer who now works as a writer and policy analyst. Her work on loneliness has appeared in the Guardian, the Huffington Post, ELLE (UK), the New York Post, and the Daily Mail. She lives in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3
( 13 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

4 Star

(3)

3 Star

(4)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(4)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 13 Customer Reviews

  • Posted August 18, 2010

    Called a"memoir",but, reads like a textbook

    I bought this book because it was called a "memoir".
    Little did I know that I would be reading a textbook about the author's
    research on the topic of loneliness.
    I was dissapointed.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted November 6, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    It was good...

    I thought that this was an interesting thriller, but the authors writing style was not smooth and I had to re-read many times to follow the story line and characters' thought processes. I was not too crazy about the rape and murder of children, but this was the base line of the story, so beyond that if you could focus on the family and heaven it was a mediocre read. My main interest of the story was what was heaven like and how different people interpreted their own heavens. It was a loving tale about the family's trials and how they learn to live with loss, and how the dead learn to live with their loss. I probably will not explore any more writings by this author because I just didn't like her complicated writing style.

    0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 21, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 29, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 2, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 9, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 2, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 19, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 12, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 21, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 26, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 26, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 7, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 13 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit