We all know what it's like to be lonely.
Loneliness is universal and not limited to any age group or culture, says Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) instructor Petti Fong, whose new book explores what it means to be lonely and what we can do about it.
“Loneliness is an intensely personal emotion. But there are universal themes about loneliness that everyone can learn something from. We all hope to find meaningful connections with others,” says Fong, who teaches communications in the Melville School of Business at KPU.
Alone Together: A Curious Exploration of Loneliness is a young adult book that explores what superheroes can teach us about being alone, the ways kids have survived on their own and how activists in the civil rights movement took a stand against loneliness.
The book is based on a well-subscribed podcast of the same name, produced by Fong during the COVID-19 pandemic, which popularized words like isolation and quarantine, and taught us the new term social distancing.
Fong learned there are endless themes and topics to explore about loneliness — from its connection to eating comfort food like mac-and-cheese to the origin stories behind superheroes.
“After the first season of the podcast, I was asked if I would consider taking the material and making it into a book. The pandemic was still ongoing, there was still a lot of uncertainty about what was ahead, and I knew that for younger readers, the pandemic was going to have a long-lasting impact on their ability to connect with others.”
As a university instructor, Fong knows the last few years haven’t been easy on students. After in-person classes returned following the pandemic, she remembers students saying they had almost forgotten what it was like to talk to someone.
“I’m part of the amazing team of instructors in the communications department. We know how vital it is for our students to be able to know how to communicate, in writing, in speaking and in listening,” she says. “If there is one lesson I hope comes out of the book, it is that we all have the ability to make a difference in someone’s life if we just listen.”
Alone Together is published by Orca Book Publishers.