Charlotte Donlon on Loneliness, Belonging, and How Both Are Essential to the Human Experience

Today on the show, we’re talking about loneliness. Now, before you switch off this episode and head off to what you might consider greener pastures, let me reframe loneliness for you: it can actually have an upside. Today’s guest Charlotte Donlon writes, in her book The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other, “Everyone knows loneliness. Some may experience it more often. Some may find relief from it more quickly. Some may deny or avoid it. But I don’t think any of us escapes its company entirely, and I’m no longer sure we should.” She adds in the book that “Being human requires a touch of loneliness.” Loneliness has reached epidemic proportions since the pandemic, and, as many of you will relate to, you can be lonely even if you are surrounded by people. On the other side of loneliness is belonging, and that’s what Charlotte’s book centers around. She writes “We can deny our loneliness, or we can embrace it and step into the great belonging.” What is the great belonging? Well, take a listen to our conversation and read Charlotte’s book to find out. Charlotte is fantastic, and was actually introduced to me by Carla Jean Whitley, a dear friend of the podcast and of mine. In her book, Charlotte asks “What if loneliness is a necessary part of the human condition? What if it is a current that leads us deeper into belonging—to ourselves, to each other, and to God?” Now, I have self-disclosed many times that I am a Christian on the show; we talk about faith, specifically our shared Christian faith, in this episode, but this book and this conversation is for all faiths, including those of you who may not have one. In this book, Charlotte encourages us to, instead of turning away from the waters of loneliness for fear they will engulf us, wade in and see what we find there. In the book, Charlotte offers tools, resources, and practices for transforming loneliness into true belonging, and I can’t wait for you to hear from her.

The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other by Charlotte Donlon

Charlotte’s Five Good Things Substack