Migrations To Solitude

Why do we often long for solitude but dread loneliness? What happens when the walls we build around ourselves are suddenly removed—or made impenetrable? If privacy is something we can count as a basic right, why are our laws, technology, and lifestyles increasingly chipping it away? These are somong the themes that Sue Halpern eloquently explores in these profoundly original essays. In pursuit of the riddle of solitude, Halpern talks to Trappist monks and secular hermits, corresponds with a prisoner in solitary confinement, and visits and AIDS hospice and a shelter for the homeless places where privacy is the first—and perhaps the most essential—thing to go. This is a book that lends weight to the ideas that have become dangerously abstract in a society of data bases and car faxes, a guide not only ot the routes to solitude but to the selves we discover only when we arrive there.

In Koch's Solitude, both solitude and engagement emerge as primary modes of human experience, equally essential for human completion. This work draws upon the vast corpus of literary reflections on solitude, especially Lao Tze, Sappho, Plotinus, Augustine, Petrarch, Montaigne, Goethe, Shelley, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman and Proust. "Koch uses the work of philosophers, historians, and writers, as well as texts such as the Bible, to show what solitude is and isn't, and what being alone can do to and for the individual. Interesting for its literary scope and its conclusions about all the good true solitude can bring us." —Booklist "Reading this book is like dipping into many minds, fierce and gentle. The author reveals his long study of great philosophers, and interprets their thoughts through the lens of his own experience with solitude. He traces our early brushes with solitude and the fear it can engender, then the craving for solitude that comes with full, adult lives." —NAPRA Review

An innovative and timely examination of the concept of solitude in nineteenth-century American literature During the nineteenth century, the United States saw radical developments in media and communication that reshaped concepts of spatiality and temporality. As the telegraph, the postal system, and public transportation became commonplace, the country achieved a level of connectedness that was never possible before. At this level, physical isolation no longer equaled psychological separation from the exterior world, and as communication networks proliferated, being disconnected took on negative cultural connotations. Though solitude, and the lack thereof, is a pressing concern in today’s culture of omnipresent digital connectivity, Yoshiaki Furui shows that solitude has been a significant preoccupation since the nineteenth-century. The obsession over solitude is evidenced by many writers of the period, with consequences for many basic notions of creativity, art, and personal and spiritual fulfillment. In Modernizing Solitude: The Networked Individual in Nineteenth-Century American Literature, Furui examines, among other works, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” Emily Dickinson’s poetry and letters, and telegraphic literature in the 1870s to identify the virtues and values these writers bestowed upon solitude in a time and place where it was being consistently threatened or devalued. Although each writer has a unique way of addressing the theme, they all aim to reclaim solitude as a positive, productive state of being that is essential to the writing process and personal identity. Employing a cross-disciplinary approach to understand modern solitude and the resulting literature, Furui seeks to historicize solitude by anchoring literary works in this revolutionary yet interim period of American communication history, while also applying theoretical insights into the literary analysis.

In the past twenty years the Adirondacks have inspired a resident population of writers who have gained regional and national prominence using the Adirondack region as their primary setting and subject matter—or at least as a significant point of departure. Rooted in Rock is the first collection of its kind in more than twenty years, since Paul Jamieson's Adirondack Reader. What makes the volume unique, though, is the number of contributors who not only make the Adirondacks their subject, but who make their homes in these mountains. The works in this volume include contemporary essays, literary nonfiction, poetry, short fiction, and excerpted fiction and are a mix of new and previously published writings by forty-three authors, established as well as emerging, including Bill McKibben, Sue Halpern, Russell Banks, Alex Schoumatoff, Chase Twichell, Curt Stager, Amy Godine, and Jim Gould, to name a few.

This text is a reflection on the meaning of spiritual darkness - especially those difficult places in human experience where meaning seems to elude us, where we are emptied out and are compelled to dig deeper into who we truly are. Douglas E. Christie takes up this facet of experience, in ordinary human experience, but also in relation to the Christian contemplative and mystical traditions, where such experience is often understood to be both painful and transformative, allowing the mind and heart to open in love.

Coping Skills for Dealing with the Overwhelming Responsibilities of Life “An elegant, powerful, and simple tool for finding serenity. Just what the world needs right now.” ?Richard Carlson, author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff We are always on the go. Balancing work, family, friends, and everything in between is a routine of running and never stopping─a cycle that can be tiring. We forget the beauty of the smaller moments and sometimes we forget to stop and use our coping skills. Stopping is a gift to yourself. Knowing when to breathe and regain a clearer vision of yourself and your surroundings helps give you a fresh perspective and an inner balance meant to help you feel in control of the bigger things. Who are you? What are your true priorities? Your responsibilities may have taken over and are preventing you from living to your fullest potential. Dr. Kundtz gives you insight into key questions you should be asking. Stop whatever you’re doing and enjoy the sunrise. Big things can grab your attention but don’t forget to turn around and find the serenity in stillness─the peace in a deep breath, and the happiness in remembering who you are. With this valuable guide learn to: Connect with the spiritual aspects of your life Practice mindfulness and reduce stress Acknowledge when it becomes too much and take a step back Use proper coping skills to create healthier habits If you enjoyed books like The Way of Integrity, Giving Grief Meaning, I Am Invincible, Time Management for Mortals, or The Road Less Traveled, then you’ll love The Art of Stopping.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The remarkable true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years, making this dream a reality—not out of anger at the world, but simply because he preferred to live on his own. “A meditation on solitude, wildness and survival.” —The Wall Street Journal In 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothing, reading material, and other provisions, taking only what he needed but terrifying a community never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, this is a vividly detailed account of his secluded life—why did he leave? what did he learn?—as well as the challenges he has faced since returning to the world. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded.