This book examines the very basic human need to belong. It looks at the intimacy that is a cornerstone of such belonging and closeness, romantic relationships, which signify belonging in the Western world, and loneliness and love, which are inextricably linked to the subject. The book examines these constructs and considers other issues such as the basic human need to belong; the different love styles and how are they expressed; empathy, social support and humour and their influence on looseness and romantic elations; loneliness and marital adjustment; the influence of culture on relationships and the loneliness felt by the partner. This book is based on papers that were originally published in the Journal of Psychology.

Longing for Intimacy is an open and honest account of the journey of a woman walking through same-sex attraction while finding freedom and healing for her heart along the way. Incorporating excerpts from her journal and reflection questions for the reader, this book serves as a practical tool to encourage, challenge, and give hope to women who are struggling with same-sex attraction.Amy's candid writing is not only helpful for women who wrestle with same-sex attraction, but also for pastors, counselors, and family members seeking to walk alongside them."By sharing her story, embedded in scriptural truth and humble vulnerability, this book gives not only hope, but a path to walk on for any woman seeking freedom from same-sex attraction and the temptations connected to it." - from the foreword by Ellen Dykas, author/editor of Sexual Sanity for Women: Healing from Sexual and Relational Brokenness

Yet many who sit next to us in the pew at church fit that description, says author Wesley Hill. As a celibate gay Christian, Hill gives us a glimpse of what it looks like to wrestle firsthand with God's ''No'' to same-sex relationships. What does it mean for gay Christians to live faithful to God while struggling with the challenge of their homosexuality? What is God's will for believers who experience same-sex desires? Those who choose celibacy are often left to deal with loneliness and the hunger for relationships. How can gay Christians experience God's favor and blessing in the midst of a struggle that for many brings a crippling sense of shame and guilt? Weaving together reflections from his own life and the lives of other Christians, such as Henri Nouwen and Gerard Manley Hopkins, Hill offers a fresh perspective on these questions. He advocates neither unqualified ''healing'' for those who struggle, nor their accommodation to temptation, but rather faithfulness in the midst of brokenness. ''I hope this book may encourage other homosexual Christians to take the risky step of opening up their lives to others in the body of Christ,'' Hill writes. ''In so doing, they may find, as I have, by grace, that being known is spiritually healthier than remaining behind closed doors, that the light is better than the darkness.

There is a particular flavor to the loneliness that comes from living in a city, surrounded by thousands of strangers. This roving cultural history of urban loneliness centers on the ultimate city: Manhattan, that teeming island of gneiss, concrete, and glass. How do we connect with other people, particularly if our sexuality or physical body is considered deviant or damaged? Does technology draw us closer together or trap us behind screens? Laing travels deep into the work and lives of some of the century's most original artists in a celebration of the state of loneliness.

Shirley Jackson Award Finalist: A “deeply compelling” literary thriller about two siblings and a man who could be the brother they never knew (George Saunders, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo). Lydia and Lucas Moore are in their late twenties when a stranger enters their small world on Wolf Island. Lydia, the responsible sister, has cared for her pathologically shy brother ever since their mom’s death a decade before. They live, comfortable yet confined, in their family house by the sea, shadowed by events from their childhood. When Lydia sees the stranger step off the ferry, she feels an immediate connection. Lucas is convinced the man, Cole Anthony, is the reincarnation of their brother, who died as a baby. Cole knows their mannerisms, their home, the topography of the island—what else could that mean? Lydia is doubtful, but she can’t deny she is drawn to his magnetism, his energy, and his warmth. To discover the truth about Cole, Lydia must finally face her anxiety about leaving the island, and summon the strength to challenge Cole’s grip on her family’s past and her brother. “One of the best literary thrillers you’ll read this year.” —Cosmopolitan “Gault finesses the mechanics of her puzzle . . . an intriguing subtext about the infantilizing hazards of familial devotion.” —The New York Times Book Review “Taut, evocative . . . shows us what binds us to places and what sets us free.” —The Boston Globe “Quietly chilling . . . A suspenseful meditation on the many ways in which the past, consciously or not, shapes the present, the novel flirts with fantasy but ultimately stays grounded in the elemental realities of wind, tides, and the eroding foundations of memory.” —Booklist “Reminds me of Karen Russell, Donna Tartt, Gillian Flynn, and Marilynne Robinson all at once . . . a monster debut.” —Daniel Torday, author of The Last Flight of Poxl West Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

"This is the first complete English translation of the Book of Love, Longing, Intimacy and Contentment, the thirty-sixth chapter of Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī's monomuntal Revival of the Religious Sciences ... The Book of Love ... is of fundamental importance in the history of Islamic thought and in the development of Sufism."--P. [4] of cover.

A teenage girl comes of age amid hidden dangers and family secrets in the Minnesota woods in this “beautiful, icy [and] electrifying debut” novel (NPR). Teenage Linda lives with her parents in the austere woods of northern Minnesota, where their nearly abandoned commune stands as a last vestige of a counter-culture world. Isolated at home and an outsider at school, Linda is drawn to the new history teacher Mr. Grierson. But his shocking arrested for child pornography leaves Linda adrift as she wrestles with her own fledgling desires. When the young Gardner family moves in across the lake, Linda finds herself welcomed into their home as a babysitter for their little boy. But this new sense of belonging comes with secrets and expectations she doesn’t understand. Over the course of a summer, Linda will have to make choices that reverberate throughout her life. Finalist for the Man Booker Award One of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2017