The book we need NOW to avoid a social recession, Murthy’s prescient message is about the importance of human connection, the hidden impact of loneliness on our health, and the social power of community.

Humans are social creatures: In this simple and obvious fact lies both the problem and the solution to the current crisis of loneliness. In his groundbreaking book, the 19th surgeon general of the United States Dr. Vivek Murthy makes a case for loneliness as a public health concern: a root cause and contributor to many of the epidemics sweeping the world today from alcohol and drug addiction to violence to depression and anxiety. Loneliness, he argues, is affecting not only our health, but also how our children experience school, how we perform in the workplace, and the sense of division and polarization in our society.

But, at the center of our loneliness is our innate desire to connect. We have evolved to participate in community, to forge lasting bonds with others, to help one another, and to share life experiences. We are, simply, better together.

The lessons in Together have immediate relevance and application. These four key strategies will help us not only to weather this crisis, but also to heal our social world far into the future.

• Spend time each day with those you love. Devote at least 15 minutes each day to connecting with those you most care about.
• Focus on each other. Forget about multitasking and give the other person the gift of your full attention, making eye contact, if possible, and genuinely listening.
• Embrace solitude. The first step toward building stronger connections with others is to build a stronger connection with oneself. Meditation, prayer, art, music, and time spent outdoors can all be sources of solitary comfort and joy.
• Help and be helped. Service is a form of human connection that reminds us of our value and purpose in life. Checking on a neighbor, seeking advice, even just offering a smile to a stranger six feet away, all can make us stronger.

During Murthy’s research for Together, he found that there were few issues that elicited as much enthusiastic interest from both very conservative and very liberal members of Congress, from young and old people, or from urban and rural residents alike. Loneliness was something so many people have known themselves or have seen in the people around them. In the book, Murthy also shares his own deeply personal experiences with the subject—from struggling with loneliness in school, to the devastating loss of his uncle who succumbed to his own loneliness, as well as the important example of community and connection that his parents modeled. Simply, it’s a universal condition that affects all of us directly or through the people we love—now more than ever.

Growing up with a parent’s addiction leaves ripple effects that can be felt well into adulthood. The trauma of familial dysfunction can weave into the fabric of your life, affecting relationships, parenting and work, and even leading to you questioning your own worth, mistrusting intimacy and feeling disconnected from yourself.

But it doesn’t have to stay this way. In this nurturing book, clinical psychologist Dr Tian Dayton draws on expertise from decades working with adult children of alcoholics, as well as her own personal experience, to empower you to embrace recovery and break the chain of intergenerational dysfunction. She will guide you as you examine how addiction shaped your family, understand the imprint it left on your childhood and discover tools to heal and thrive. You will learn to process attachment wounds, reconnect with your body, regulate emotions and move towards post-traumatic growth.

Grounded in research, enriched by client narratives and filled with practical exercises based on Dr Dayton's own Relational Trauma Repair (RTR) model, this book will allow you to recover from buried hurt and give your inner child a voice, illuminating the path towards a better future for yourself and your loved ones.