Rae Andre is Associate Professor of Human Resources Management at Northwestern University in Boston. In this well-done and thought-provoking paperback she celebrates the value of positive solitude as an antidote to the requirement of "finding someone" as a cure to our loneliness. Andre believes that people tend to view being alone as the source of all their problems. But there are plenty of models of individuals who have made the most of positive solitude such as Liv Ullmann, Anne Morrow Lindberg, Thomas Merton, and Doris Lessing. Personal independence enables us to explore ourselves, to be creative, and to vastly expand our repertoire of interests.
After outlining Six Loneliness Traps, Andre moves on to an exploration of being your own and making decisions, relishing the art of sensuality, finding solace, savoring laughter and celebration, and recognizing the difference between the solitude of men and women. She then spells out a sane and salutary philosophy of solitude as related to meaning and self-actualization.
