Going Solo, Eric Klinenberg
Going Solo, Eric Klinenberg
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Going Solo
The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone

Author: Eric Klinenberg

Narrator: Patrick Lawlor

Unabridged: 8 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/02/2012


Synopsis

A revelatory examination of the most significant demographic shift since the baby boomthe sharp increase in the number of people who live alonethat offers surprising insights on the benefits of this epochal change Renowned sociologist and author Eric Klinenberg explores the dramatic rise of solo living and examines the seismic impact its having on our culture, business, and politics. Conventional wisdom tells us that living by oneself leads to loneliness and isolation, but, as Klinenberg shows, most solo dwellers are deeply engaged in social and civic life. In fact, compared with their married counterparts, they are more likely to eat out and exercise, go to art and music classes, attend public events and lectures, and volunteer. Theres even evidence that people who live alone enjoy better mental health than unmarried people who live with others and have more environmentally sustainable lifestyles than families, since they favor urban apartments over large suburban homes. It is now more common for an American adult to live alone than with family or a roommate, and Klinenberg analyzes the challenges and opportunities these people face: young professionals who pay higher rent for the freedom and privacy of their own apartments; singles in their thirties and forties who refuse to compromise their career or lifestyle for an unsatisfying partner; divorced men and women who no longer believe that marriage is a reliable source of happiness or stability; and the elderly, most of whom prefer living by themselves to living with friends or their children. Living alone is more the rule than the exception in places like Manhattan, half of whose residents live by themselves, and many of Americas largest cities, where more than a third of the population does. Drawing on over three hundred interviews with men and women of all ages and every class who live alone, Klinenberg reaches a startling conclusion: In a world of ubiquitous media and hyperconnectivity, this way of life helps us discover ourselves and appreciate the pleasure of good company. With eyeopening statistics, original data, and vivid portraits of people who go solo, Klinenberg upends the conventional wisdom to deliver the definitive take on how the rise of living alone is transforming the American experience. Going Solo is a powerfuland necessaryassessment of an unprecedented social change.

About Eric Klinenberg

Eric Klinenberg is professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. The recipient of an Individual Projects Fellowship from the Open Society Institute in 2000, he is coeditor of The Making and Unmaking of Whiteness and a regular contributor to Le Monde Diplomatique.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily

I was looking forward to this book enough to buy it, but came away disappointed. To begin with, I did not find it "revelatory," beyond a few statistics early in the text about how prevalent living alone has become in American society, however little it may be reflected in the popular culture. I expe......more

Goodreads review by Andrea

When Klininberg investigated a wave of heat-related deaths in Chicago, he discovered the majority of them had some sad facts in common: most were men, living alone, without social networks or families to check in on them. One might expect, then, that his book on the exponential increase in single-pe......more

Goodreads review by Ciara

wow! most misleading subtitle ever. i have lived alone before & it had quite a lot of appeal for me. it was awesome. but had i read this book before i took the plunge, it may never have happened, because this book portrays most people who live alone as very sad & probably on the verge of a horrible......more