How to Be Alone
If You Want To, and Even If You Don't
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4.3 • 55 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The former Sex & Relationships Editor for Cosmopolitan and host of the wildly popular comedy show Tinder Live with Lane Moore presents her poignant, funny, and deeply moving first book.
Lane Moore is a rare performer who is as impressive onstage—whether hosting her iconic show Tinder Live or being the enigmatic front woman of It Was Romance—as she is on the page, as both a former writer for The Onion and an award-winning sex and relationships editor for Cosmopolitan. But her story has had its obstacles, including being her own parent, living in her car as a teenager, and moving to New York City to pursue her dreams. Through it all, she looked to movies, TV, and music as the family and support systems she never had.
From spending the holidays alone to having better “stranger luck” than with those closest to her to feeling like the last hopeless romantic on earth, Lane reveals her powerful and entertaining journey in all its candor, anxiety, and ultimate acceptance—with humor always her bolstering force and greatest gift.
How to Be Alone is a must-read for anyone whose childhood still feels unresolved, who spends more time pretending to have friends online than feeling close to anyone in real life, who tries to have genuine, deep conversations in a roomful of people who would rather you not. Above all, it’s a book for anyone who desperately wants to feel less alone and a little more connected through reading her words.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In these bitingly honest autobiographical essays, comedian Moore chronicles the aftereffects of being raised by emotionally abusive and indifferent parents. After high school, she left home and moved to New York, hoping to find a soulmate and hide away from anyone who might hurt her. In "So Your Family Dictates Your Romantic Future? What a Fun Punishment!", she explains how her parents displayed pride only after their kids had grown up; in "Maybe Someone Else Will Love Me and That Will Fix Everything," she writes about sexual abuse ("sexual assault is not your my first time' story if you don't want it to be" is the book's most heartbreaking and encouraging line) and dysfunctional adult relationships. In the title essay, about trying to find a partner, Moore writes, "Telling yourself not to look for love is like telling yourself not to look for food or air or water or clothes that fit you perfectly." Almost as if trying to bolster herself, Moore points out that being single and alone isn't a life sentence. Within this compassionately told memoir, Moore offers hard-won advice for those looking to get beyond a painful past.
Customer Reviews
Honest and amazing
I finished this book in 8 hours. It was an amazing read. It was open and honest. I for once didn’t feel odd. It did make really think of interactions of myself of other people.
I highly recommend this book!
The first book I finished reading of 2019
So I have to deeply thank you for reliving all you had to in order to write this solid gold brick of a book. Wow. I’ve always been someone who struggled finishing books, and literally on the first day of the year(today) I finished a book I chose to read for pleasure and curiosity. I definitely feel less alone reading this book, and I laughed and cried, and screenshot soooo many pages to re-read. Thank you- thank you. On a side note: I’ve been tormented about relocating to NYC since my nine day trip there last fall and your stories covered me in hard-hitting reality but also deep-running hope that it’s not impossible if it’s really something I want to do for myself and my dreams. You’re a fellow unicorn and I hope we get to share in-person conversation one day. 🙏🏾🦄 *Note: I re-started my search for my own place once I finished this book. It’s THAT good.
Deep, real and inspiring
This was exactly the book I needed to read after going through a devastating and abusive break up. At times it was like Lane was talking directly to me. Her voice is crystal clear and she artfully lays out a compelling narrative that makes you laugh and cry. Definitely a must read for those who want to take a look at themselves and to not feel alone in doing so.