About this quote

Feeling alone often comes from a gap between your private thoughts and what you see around you. Books narrow that gap by putting other people's words and mistakes next to your own. When someone names the exact worry you carry, the sense of isolation loosens. Try a small practice: read one short essay or chapter that matches your mood and underline the lines that feel like they were written for you.

When to use it

• Before a performance review at work I skimmed a leader's memoir and told my colleague, "Okay, other people have blown a project like this and lived to tell the tale."
• The night before my final exam I read a senior student's essay about flunking once and recovering, and I said to my roommate, "So I'm not the only one who freaks out the first time."
• After my diagnosis I spent an evening on a longform blog by someone with the same condition and whispered, "So other people actually manage this — I'm not inventing it."
• At 3 a.m. with a newborn crying, I scrolled a parenting forum thread and told my partner, "Look, we're not the only exhausted ones—this happens everywhere."