Healing Loneliness by Increasing Connection and Belonging and STORYBOOK ENDING by Moira Macdonald
- Marisa Gelfand
- Sep 12
- 2 min read
Alice and Laura lead very different lives, but they share one thing in common: loneliness.
Alice’s job is intimate yet impersonal: reviewing strangers’ photos of their for-sale homes. Working from home leaves her with low levels of human interaction. Laura is a widow raising a young daughter. Since her husband’s death, even when with others, she often feels alone.
One day, Alice spots Westley. On a whim, she slips an unsigned note into a book for him. Westley never finds it. He sells the book to Laura, who discovers the message and believes it’s meant for her. She writes back, also anonymously.
So begins a correspondence between Alice and Laura, each thinking they’re writing to Westley. The letters provide what they’ve long been missing: hope and connection.
Loneliness is widespread. It isn’t about how many people you know, but whether you feel truly connected. Even those surrounded by others can feel adrift without someone to talk to or rely on in a crisis. While loneliness is painful, it’s not permanent. The first step is recognizing the feeling, then taking small, intentional actions to ease it—reaching out, staying open, and making room for real connection.
Here are tools for healing loneliness by increasing connection and belonging.
Identify Different Types of Connection: Not all relationships serve the same purpose. Your connections (with family, friends, romantic partners, your broader community, technology, and most importantly, yourself) meet different emotional needs. Nurture each connection bucket to feel more supported.
Strengthen Your Relationship with Yourself: Start by accepting your reality, including the traits that make you unique. Then, identify and embrace what makes you exceptional. These qualities are the foundation for building deeper, more authentic relationships.
Rethink Your Habits: Consider whether your daily habits are contributing to your loneliness. For instance, if you tend to decompress from a remote-work day by watching TV alone, and then feel isolated, try swapping that for activities that offer connection. Choose activities that bring you closer to people, rather than passive or numbing routines.
