A Cry Unheard: New Insights Into the Medical Consequences of Loneliness

by James J. Lynch

Book Overview

"It is one of the most perplexing paradoxes of modern life. As technology dramatically expands our ways of communicating, loneliness has become one of the leading causes of premature death in all technologically advanced nations.The medical toll is made heavier by powerful social forces--school failure, family and communal disintegration, divorce, the loss of loved ones. And while loneliness, the lack of human companionship, the absence of face-to-face...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1890862118
• ISBN13: 9781890862114
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: Bancroft Press
• Length: 345 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Very Insightful

I will first admit that the book is 10+ years old and so that way the stats are out of date. However the theory and the ideas behind the stats are still I think quite sound. I haven't read the whole book yet but so far it has been very interesting.

An important book on an overlooked topic.

This is an interesting, important, and well-written book on a subject that is overlooked, often perhaps out of embarrassment. The emotional consequences of loneliness are neither surprising nor unexpected. It is the biomedical consequences that are the surprise, and which are so infrequently identified because their roots are concealed in time and then protected by shame, by secrecy, and by social taboos against exploring certain areas of human experience. "A Cry Unheard" would be a good purchase by, or a gift for, any practicing physician. Vincent J. Felitti, MD

Thoughtful, insightful book

I bought this book and was really awed at some of Dr. Lynch's comments and research. It is a gentle and profound book that looks at the physiological aspects of loneliness. Some of his observations are brilliant, I felt. I especially appreciated his research into the affects of early trauma, and our bodies' reactions as we talked about it. Interesting that bodies remember the early psychological effects, even if we consciously don't remember. While we might intuitively believe that to be true, his research was good evidence of its truth. I am glad that Dr. Lynch is doing this research. It has great potential for many aspects of medicine, as well as psychotherapy. Kudos to Dr. Lynch!