How to Be Alone: If You Want To, and Even If You Don’t by Lane Moore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have been reading memoir and self-help for my entire life. I choose these genres to understand the yearnings inside of me and to look for others who share my anxieties. I had no idea when I bought Lane Moore’s How to Be Alone, how much it would strike both chords so strongly. One of the key components of memoir is to be completely raw and honest; she does both exquisitely. Lane describes awful events that she survived in a way that it was all normal, because for her, it was.
What I truly identified with in this book was how much a lack of love in your childhood can cause you to continuously and self-destructively ruin your life through your own choices, and then continuously scratch your head and wonder why. I understand this pattern as I have lived it myself over and over again. But Lane lets us know that we do it for a reason and that it is ultimately not our fault. She issues forgiveness to those of us who most need it, including herself.
The ending of the book is triumphant as Lane finds love in the smallest of packages, which society may not define as the ideal love, but one that is true, loyal and unconditional. Each day is a challenge but Lane has reminded me I’m not alone and together we can find peace.
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Lisa Rocha Gubernick 