400 Friends and No One to Call: Breaking Through Isolation and Building Community

A friendly, candid, and comforting guide for isolating times when we have no one to count on.

Despite the inclusive promise of social media, loneliness is a growing epidemic in the United States. Social isolation can shatter our confidence. In isolating times, we're not only lonely, we're also ashamed because our society stigmatizes people who appear to be without support.

As a single, fifty-eight-year-old woman, Val Walker found herself stranded and alone after major surgery when her friends didn't show up. As a professional rehabilitation counselor, she was too embarrassed to reveal how utterly isolated she was by asking for someone to help, and it felt agonizingly awkward calling colleagues out of the blue. As she recovered, Val found her voice and developed a plan of action for people who lack social support, not only to heal from the pain of isolation, but to create a solid strategy for rebuilding a sense of community.

400 Friends and No One to Call spells out the how-tos for befriending our wider community, building a social safety net, and fostering our sense of belonging. On a deeper level, we are invited to befriend our loneliness, rather than feel ashamed of it, and open our hearts and minds to others trapped in isolation.

About the Author
Val Walker is a rehabilitation consultant and the author of The Art of Comforting, which won the Nautilus Book Award and was recommended by the Boston Public Health Commission as a guide for families impacted by the Boston Marathon Bombing. She has a master of science degree in rehabilitation counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University and has led support groups for people living with chronic illness, disability, grief, and trauma for twenty-four years. A contributing blogger for Psychology Today, she lives in Boston and teaches and speaks throughout New England.