Seek You A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kristen Radtke

​    If you are at all reluctant to read this book thinking that it’ll just be one of those maudlin weightless and meaningless things like Manjit Thapp’s recent book, don’t be. This is serious, substantial and very, very good.
     A profound meditation on loneliness as a social condition, from its psychological ramifications to its overall deleterious effects on individuals and the fabric of society at large, Seek You, titled after the phonetic rendering of a CQ radio call, talks about the disconnectedness that so permeates the modern society, despite all the performative connectivity that social media affords.
     Chapter by chapter this book deals with serious themes, substantiated by research, empirical evidence and facts and time and time again it shows that loneliness isn’t just a state of mind, it’s a much more serious thing, more like a state of being, the kind of isolation that isn’t merely sad, but can in fact be dangerous. Lonely people, it seems, don’t last as long in nature, and this has nothing to do with being alone as such, it’s more than that, a state of disconnect from the world.
     Once upon a time we needed others to survive. Literally. But then as the civilization progressed, it gave us the grand delusion of self-sufficiency, especially in the US, where such mentality is practically enshrined. It’s meant to produce proudly self-reliant people, but often results in profoundly lonely ones. The culture of individuality is its own evil, but that would be a long digression and I ought to spare you.
    Suffice it to say, this book is a pretty exhaustive guide on loneliness, rendered through both personal reflections and scientific perspective. It’s well written, erudite, emotionally and otherwise intelligent and very, very well drawn. What more can you ask for?
    Long, but doesn’t read like it, bleak, but what did you expect, this one is absolutely worth a read. It also, it stands to mention, introduces the readers to a research scientist who puts Pavlov to shame, so beware of some serious monkey abuse. Really horrific to read about. Almost makes you think about a possibility of the apes rising up and taking over to avenge themselves. Or wait…has that been done?
       Anyway, a very good read to stir up some thoughts. Recommended.