There have been various studies that prove that loneliness can be treated with a good book. It can’t be cured, that’s on us, it seems, but books can help alleviate the symptoms enough for us to help ourselves.
Here are a few books I recommend for when you’re feeling lonely and need a boost. They’re a mix of non-fiction and fiction books which can we be read on e-readers, in paperback or as audiobooks. Whatever you feel more comfortable with.
My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me by Hilary Winston
If you’re feeling lonely because of a break-up, a relationship gone wrong or simply an unrequited romance, then this might be the book for you. It’s a humourous non-fiction written by TV producer Hilary Winston, whose boyfriend of five years wrote a tell-all ‘fictional’ book about her. Which was basically a non-fictional story. So to get her own back, she wrote a non-fiction book all about him, and other relationships she had been in.
It’s a look at relationships from the awkwardness to the romantic. It will make you laugh, nod and smile and can be carried with you like a little motivational book for getting over the worst part of any relationship: being alone.
My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
This fictional story follows Katie Brenner, who has recently moved to London from Somerset in the hopes of making it big in the city. She is kidding herself, and those around her, by pretending to have her life together on Instagram. In fact, she’s storing all of her belongings in a hammock above her bed, as the room she is renting can’t fit a wardrobe.
When her job goes up in flames, she has to return home with her tail between her legs. But she makes the most of it, and even gets a little revenge and romance in the process. For those of you moving away from family or having to start again after a troubled time, then this is the book for you.
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Sometimes we’re having a down day and we just need to be with friends, but no one’s available. This is where Harry Potter comes in. For most of us Harry Potter was a childhood friend growing up. We saw him every year in book form and later in film form. When you’re feeling down, sometimes the best thing to do is to snuggle up in your comfy pyjamas and delve back into the world of Hogwarts. It’s escapism at its best.
The Lonely City by Olivia Lang
For some, understanding is what helps in a tough situation. For those kinds of people, I recommend The Lonely City by Olivia Lang, a non-fiction book that takes a look at the lives of artists in big cities whose lives were tainted with loneliness. Yet through this dark and depressing period of their lives, they made something beautiful and lasting.
This book takes you to the dark places of your inner self but shows you that, wherever there is darkness there is also light, and we just need to work through it. Inspirational and deep, this book will for sure get you thinking.
Help Me!: One Woman’s Quest to Find Out if Self-Help Really Can Change Her Life by Marianne Power
Anyone who has experienced loneliness has probably also tried to cure it using self-help books. Help Me by Marianne Power is the creative non-fiction telling of her experience of reading twelve self-help books across eighteen months in the hopes of improving herself and her life.
All the Lonely People by David Owen
This book is a fantastic look at what would happen to Generation Z if their social media and online world crumbled. Would they be able to communicate traditionally, or are we all living in a lonely social media bubble? This fictional tale follows Kat, our protagonist, when this happens to her, and her confident online life becomes void. We experience an uplifting and reassuring story that we’re not alone, and that sometimes being brave is all it takes to re-enter the world we feel we’re separated from.
