How to Be Alone

Description

In How to Be Alone, Sara Maitland asks how we have arrived in a culture that values individualism, personal autonomy, independence and fulfilment higher than ever before in human history - but at the same time is terrified of solitude. Delving in to history to answer this question, she examines our changing culture through the ages and asks why and how we have periodically praised and then feared the practice of being alone, and those who seek it. In this thought-provoking and practical book, Sara offers real ideas for finding and enjoying solitude in our modern age. She addresses the instant reflex reaction we can sometimes feel when faced with those who choose to be alone and helps us tackle our fear so we can embrace time alone ourselves.

Sara Maitland is a British writer and feminist. She is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the Somerset Maugham Award-winning Daughters of Jersualem an several non-fiction books about religion. Born in 1950, she studied at Oxford University and lives in Galloway.

This new series of The School of Life's self-help books build on the strengths of the first, tackling some of the hardest issues of our lives in a way that is genuinely informative, helpful and consoling. Here are books that prove that the term "self-help" doesn't have to be either shallow or naive -- Alain de Botton, Founder of The School of Life The School of Life offers radical ways to help us raid the treasure trove of human knowledge * Independent on Sunday *