Alonement, Francesca Specter
Alonement, Francesca Specter
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

Alonement
How to be alone and absolutely own it

Author: Francesca Specter

Narrator: Francesca Specter

Unabridged: 7 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Quercus

Published: 03/04/2021

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

How to be alone and absolutely own it, by founder of the Alonement blog and podcast, Francesca Specter.

Being alone has a serious branding issue. We've only ever had negative language to talk about flying solo - but what about when time spent alone is restorative and joyful? What if it's something you crave? What if it's even just an hour you've carved out yourself in the middle of a hectic week?

Enter: Alonement, Francesca Specter's empowering new word to express valuing your own company and carving out time to spend with yourself, whoever you are and whatever your relationship status.

Between open-plan offices, two-for-one vouchers and co-habiting with partners and friends, most of us don't know how to be alone - yet our life-long relationship with ourselves is the most important one we'll ever have. A reformed 'extreme extrovert' who struggled to spend even an hour alone, Francesca made the resolution in January 2019 to improve her solitude skills. Having spent two months of lockdown by herself, Francesca knows better than most how to optimise the quality of time spent alone.

Packed with practical tips, insights from key experts and lessons from guests of the Alonement podcast - including Alain de Botton, Florence Given, Konnie Huq and Camilla Thurlow - Francesca reveals how we can all thrive alone, whatever our circumstances, and harness the untapped power of some meaningful time with me, myself and I.

(P)2021 Quercus Editions Limited

About Francesca Specter

Francesca Specter is a London-based journalist and founder of the platform and podcast, Alonement. Prior to launching Alonement in 2019, Francesca was the deputy editor of Yahoo! Lifestyle. She has formerly worked as a reporter at the Daily Express, and her work has appeared in the Guardian, the Telegraph and Grazia. She holds an M.A. degree in Magazine Journalism from City University, London, and she has been nominated for several awards for her work, including the PPA Digital Rising Star award. Alonement is Francesca's first book.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Alae on November 23, 2021

Reading this book was a journey in the corridors of being alone and owning. It makes really good points sometimes, however I didn't find it that particularly interesting or mindblowing. Overall this book gave me some good ideas about how to spend some quality time with myself.......more

Goodreads review by Lindsey on January 17, 2024

If you’re an introvert, you don’t need this book. But it’s good. But you don’t need it if you already like being alone sometimes.......more

Goodreads review by Ruth on October 12, 2024

The book starts out in the introduction with a bold statement that this book is for everyone, I have to strongly disagree. I could see this being a very helpful read if I was in my 20s and just starting out on a journey of unpacking normative scripts around relationships. As a Queer, ND, Polyamorous......more

Goodreads review by Anick on January 15, 2023

While this book makes a good point of the importance of being comfortable with one self, I feel like this was aimed at self-centered millenials who cannot live one day without sharing it on Instagram. I am perhaps a bit older and I've become disentangled with the need of being connected or in a rela......more

Goodreads review by Valeria on February 17, 2024

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It preaches to the converted in my case, because I've mastered alonement over the years, but overall it left me with some food for thought, fresh ideas and views on certain aspects that I had never considered. It's written in a flowing, direct and honest style that ma......more


Quotes

Just because you are alone, it doesn't mean that you are lonely. Such is the premise behind Specter's fascinating book, both a celebration and a practical guide towards how to make being by yourself work for you. i news

A hugely generous and thoughtful book which reminds us of the distinction between loneliness on the one hand and solitude on the other - and emphasises the dignity and adventure of a life lived on one's own terms Alain de Botton

A kind, wise celebration of solo living - a joyous invitation to make your own declaration of independence Daisy Buchanan

Thoughtful and thought provoking, it made me genuinely excited about spending time in my own company Felicity Cloake