The Lonely Stories: 22 Celebrated Writers on the Joys & Struggles of Being Alone

by Natalie Eve Garrett (Editor)

Overview

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, The Lonely Stories reveals the complexities of an emotion we’ve all felt—reminding us that we're not alone.

Contributors include:

Megan Giddings

Claire Dederer

Imani Perry

Jeffery Renard Allen

Maggie Shipstead

Emily Raboteau

Lev Grossman

Lena Dunham

Yiyun Li

Anthony Doerr

Helena Fitzgerald

Maile Meloy

Aja Gabel

Jean Kwok

Amy Shearn

Peter Ho Davies

Maya Shanbhag Lang

Jhumpa Lahiri

Jesmyn Ward

Lidia Yuknavitch

Dina Nayeri

Melissa Febos

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781948226608
Publisher:	Catapult
Publication date:	04/19/2022
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	143,597
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

Brief Important Moments Where I Was the Only Person on Earth Megan Giddings 3

Javelinas Claire Dederer 13

Ward Imani Perry 27

Mother-Wit Jeffery Renard Allen 35

At the Horizon Maggie Shipstead 53

Exodus, 2020 Emily Raboteau 67

Maine Man Lev Grossman 77

Alone Time Lena Dunham 87

To Speak Is to Blunder but I Venture Yiyun Li 97

Am I Still Here? Anthony Doerr 111

A Strange and Difficult Joy Helena Fitzgerald 119

75 x 2 Maile Meloy 129

The Body Secret Aja Gabel 133

The Perpetual Foreigner Jean Kwok 143

The Woman Who Walked Alone Amy Shearn 153

Part and Apart Peter Ho Davies 169

Letting Go Maya Shanbhag Lang 177

Trading Stories Jhumpa Lahiri 185

On Witness and Respair Jesmyn Ward 199

Reliquary: A Quartet Lidia Yuknavitch 209

The Ugly Corner Dina Nayeri 219

Notes from the Midpoint of a Celibate Year Melissa Febos 231

About the Contributors 241

Acknowledgments 249

Permissions 251

Editorial Reviews

01/17/2022

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. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Lonely Stories: 

A Fortune Best Book of the Month
The Millions, A Most Anticipated Book of the Month

"Moving." —The New York Times Book Review

"Stories about longing to feel seen, or feeling power in solitude, from some of our favorite writers." —Sophia June, A NYLON Best New Book of the Month

"Poignant, sad, uplifting, and hopeful all at once, and a great read whether you feel lonely in the moment or not." —Sarah Neilson, Shondaland

"Wise, wondrous . . . A necessary guidebook in our Covid era." —Hamilton Cain, Oprah Daily

"Compelling and timely . . . Quietly powerful . . . I underlined and underlined. I texted photos of entire pages of these essays to my female friends. They hearted the messages and texted back YES." —Charlotte Hecht, Los Angeles Review of Books

"Has there ever been a more appropriate time for a chronicle of writers’ individual experiences with the state of being alone than now, in the midst of an isolating and prolonged global pandemic? . . . From a diverse set of acclaimed authors." —Sophia Carr, Zyzzyva

"This collection is a reminder of the commonalities of human experience, an examination of the challenges of a social species, and an uplifting look at how we connect with ourselves when we are alone." —Oh Reader

"Gutsy and illuminating."—Nell Beram, Shelf Awareness

"Absolute must-read essay collection . . . Serving at once as a how-to, therapy, and a literary companion, this collection will bring light to readers." —Booklist (starred review)

"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

"The most riveting essay collection I've ever read. Each essay offers a strong sense of place and investigates the texture of aloneness. The surgeon general says loneliness is an epidemic; these writers have taken moments of loneliness and made art." —Christie Tate, author of Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life

"A poignant tour through the beauty and challenges of solitude—as a thing to escape, covet, cultivate, and come to terms with." —Tajja Isen, author of Some of My Best Friends

"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

Praise for Eat Joy:

"The essays in Eat Joy are so sharp, so real, so beautiful, so full of heartbreak . . . Each is an extraordinary act of generosity." —Helen Rosner, food correspondent for The New Yorker

"Natalie Eve Garrett's Eat Joy does this magical thing where it makes you remember the tastes of the heaviest times in your life, while reminding you that everyone on earth has experienced the taste of love and loss, though none of our tastes are the same. This is the first collection that ever made me want to sensually eat, cook, write, and thank all the wonderful makers of the most memorable memories in my life." —Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

From the Publisher

★ 2021-12-29
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 loneli­ness 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 reas­sure 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.

Kirkus Reviews