Sunday, November 30, 2014

Solitude - Anthony Storr

Sub-title: A Return to the Self

When my good friend Teddi died, she left her book collection to another friend who let me pick any of them that I wanted to keep.  This book was one that I thought looked interesting.

The author challenges the psychological belief that people need people to be happy and instead explores the satisfaction to be had from solitude.  He examines the personal feelings of contentment that can be experienced through creative and intellectual endeavors.  He offers examples of individuals who survived solitary confinement through their imagination and self-discipline.  There are chapters discussing the different personalities that seem to take to solitude, the effect of grief and bereavement and the solitude of the end of our lives.  The author emphasizes the value of meditation and reflection in solitude to renew and awaken our spirit.

Someone had cut out newspaper articles on solitude and kept them in the front cover of the book.  I can't help thinking it was part of their way of dealing with loss.


Published:  1988  Read:  November 2014  Genre: Non-fiction

No comments:

Post a Comment

Post your comments here, would love to hear what you think