If you’ve been single for any portion of your adult life—and especially if this solo season has lasted longer than you hoped it would—you’ve felt the ache of loneliness. You’ve watched happy couples and wondered when you’ll meet your partner. You’ve likely slipped into fear—what if you never meet your person? What if you never “belong” to anyone?

Leisse Wilcox gets it. She’s felt these feelings—deeply. And, at 40, she continues to wrestle with a post-divorce, post-cancer diagnosis life that looks nothing like she expected it would. As a writer, Leisse has unpacked this struggle in her new book, Alone: The Truth + Beauty of Belonging.

Our conversation today can be summarized by my review of Leisse’s book. “Part memoir, part self-help guide, part love letter to anyone aching with loneliness, Alone: The Truth + Beauty of Belonging assures us that though we may not choose to be alone, we absolutely choose the meaning we ascribe to our solitude. Through potent reframes e.g., What if self-care became soul care? and It’s the feeling you want, not the thing you want, Leisse emboldens us to embrace the truth that ‘when you belong to yourself, you are never really alone.’”

Spielmann, S., MacDonald, G., Maxwell, J., Joel, S., Peragine, D., Muise, A., & Impett, E. (2013). Settling for less out of fear of being single. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 1049-1073.

Leisse Wilcox

Website: https://leissewilcox.com/

Dr. Karin

Website: http://loveandlifemedia.com/

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Single is the New Black - Audiobook

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Alone: The Truth + Beauty of Belonging with Leisse Wilcox Ep. 172