Celebrating Time Alone: Stories of Splendid Solitude

by Lionel Fisher

Book Overview

Choosing to enrich your life by yourself is very different from being "lonely." In Celebrating Time Alone , Lionel Fisher shares his personal reflections on solitude, brought into sharp focus by... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582700494
• ISBN13: 9781582700496
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Not Alone In My Solitude

Just when I was beginning to think that maybe something was wrong with me mentally for loving my privacy and solitude so much, here comes a book that shows me I'm not alone in my need for the solitary life! The joys that I glean from simple things around me, things I wouldn't even begin to notice because of outside pressures and people needing me and using my time, are all part of what makes up "me". The people I met in Lionel Fisher's book all seem like relatives. We all share the same familial trait, like the shape of some aunt's lips, or grandma Freida's cowlick....we all crave our independance and are successful in living our lives alone. How happy I am to know that rather than having something wrong with me because I'd rather pass on a party or work in a crowded office, I can find solace and worth in living by myself and accomplishing things that others might never attempt! And it's thanks to Lionel Fisher...who, rather than preach to me about how "right" my lifestyle is for me, shows me by introducing me to the people he has met and telling me their stories. For those of you who live alone and love the life you've chosen, read this book. If for nothing else, then to see that we're really not so alone afterall!

Celebrating Time Alone: Stories of Splendid Solitude

I have just finished reading this remarkably human and compassionate book by Lionel L. Fisher. I read it in two days, and I heard myself saying out loud. "My God this is so true." This is an extremely valuable book that should be read by many people who question their own self-worth. It should be read by the young adults who are rushing around, and who never take the time to realize what is truly important. Everyone is just doing, doing and doing. No one seems to know how to just be, and to take the time to really value what is so important in life. Please do not wait until you're old to realize this, do it now and enjoy your life to the fullest, by being in the now. I applaud the author who had the courage to be by himself, walking that long stretch of beach and facing all the demons of his past. I applaud all the brave and intriguing characters that he interviewed for this book. But, most of all, I am so grateful for this book, because it has been so remarkably helpful to me in my own personal life. I have just ordered five more copies. Why? I wish to give a truly wonderful gift to the people that I hold most dear in my life. I know that they will benefit both spiritually and emotionally by reading this book. Thank you Lionel L. Fisher for giving us the opportunity to read such a wonderful down to earth book that is both witty and poignant at the same time.

Not just for singletons

I am happily married and hope to be together with my significant other into eternity. Still, I connected with many of the truths and personal stories that Lionel Fisher has woven through this book. I had some initial misgivings about the central theme ("Is this guy trying to talk us all out of pairing up?"). But I found that what Fisher and his subjects say about the importance of learning to live with and love oneself first (and best) rings equally true in marriage as in aloneness. Most of all, this book delivers a reassuring message: that being alone -- whether by choice or by circumstance -- isn't something to be feared. It's what we choose to make of our solitude that matters.

I wish I would have had this book when I was younger!

Reading this book earlier in my life sure would have saved me alot of agony about being alone. In this book there were so many stories about how people being alone have made their alonenees into a monument of who they are. To read their stories was so incredibly inspiring and because of the stories in this book I realize whole different perspectives on my own aloneness. Lionel Fisher has such a way of grabbing ahold of a reader! I just couldn't put down that book! His humor and sensitivity are captivating. I found myself chuckling several times throughout the book. Several times I felt like crying for the person in a story. I think I ran the gamut of emotions. His book was like watching a fantastic movie you never want to end. Mostly his book inspired me to make the most of my aloneness. Whenever I question it I'll re-read one of the real life stories in his book.

Good Food for Thought

We use words to express thought and when we have no time for thought we let the words do the thinking - or rather we take the thought expressed by a word for granted. Consider `loneliness' - no need for explanations. Loneliness equals sadness, pain, tears, crying, despair, anti-social, or odd character, lack of companionship, lovelessness etc. Check the song lyrics for verification, `Are you lonesome tonight?', `Have you ever been lonely, have you ever been blue?', `Oh lonesome me', `I am so lonesome I could cry' etc. For long I have being puzzled by an inner conflict. I don't consider myself anti-social and yet I do not take to company easily. When I do and as the subject inevitably turns to rumor, money, sports, who bought what, how much does it cost, who went out with whom and other gossip, my mind begins to pain. I smile the most neutral smile I can produce to signal I accept in advance whatever the company says and embrace the first occasion to depart. At that point, being alone, yes, loneliness is my freedom.Attempting to find out if I am odd and if so, how much, I bought and read `Celebrating Time Alone'. It is good reading and, thank God, it is not a `how to' book. It did not promise nor has given me the mental triceps needed to knock out loneliness in the first round. Celebrating Time Alone instructs without teaching, which I always found the best way to learn. The author, a survivor of the corporate world, took up residence - alone but for a dog and a lizard - in a secluded corner of the Longview Peninsula in Washington State. He has traveled throughout the country talking to people with radically different characters but with one thing in common, their choice to live alone. Their answers, their experiences, their way to cope with life are intriguing. At times while reading I found myself saying, `I did not think about it that way' - for me, usually, a sign that I learned something. The author blends the thoughts and experience of the `lone subjects' with his own experience and thoughts as one who chose to live alone. The results are often surprising and constructive. After finishing the book I decided I am not as odd as I thought. At one time or another being alone is inevitable. Celebrating Time Alone shows paths towards making the experience positive. Quoting again a well known song lyric, I found in this book some aces I could keep. Five Thumbs.