Being by Myself

They explain which personal imprints and social conditions lead some to seek solitude, others to flee it, and show ways out of involuntary seclusion.

Everyone seems to know loneliness, and yet it is like an unexplored continent. In their entertaining atlas, Johann Hinrich Claussen and Ulrich Lilie survey places of refuge where one is finally "by oneself," the expanses of "loneliness" where one wanders through melancholically, the realm of solitude to which monks, scientists, and artists retreat, and the icy regions of isolation where one threatens to freeze to death. They explain what research says about solitude and point to paths of liberation. A helpful guide for anyone who wants to explore the continent of solitude more closely and leave safely.