Understanding Loneliness

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Over two-thirds of people report feeling lonely at some point in their life – most often early or late in life (Blodgett et al., 2025).

Loneliness is so much more than social isolation – it is a public health issue, associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death. The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day (Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), 2023).

While therapy can help, building meaningful social connections and a sense of community can be the focus of intervention (Imwinkelried et al., 2025). Opportunities for social networking, social-emotional skill-building, and even cognitive-behavioral therapy can help individuals overcome barriers to isolation, empowering them to build the social connections they need to thrive (APA, 2025).

Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize winning author, explores loneliness and how books can connect us in her latest novel, The Things We Never Say.

Heather Rose Artushin: Share a bit about your background and what inspired you to write The Things We Never Say.

Elizabeth Strout: The idea of this book came to me one day when a tiny story was told to me (the story had very few details) about a man, who with his father, was in a boat one day and they saw a man’s head. So they went over, and it was a man who had fallen overboard and so they pulled him out of........

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