Loneliness and Longing: Conscious and Unconscious Aspects edited by Brent Willock, Lori C. Bohm, and Rebecca Coleman Curtis New York:  Routledge Taylor and Francis, 2012,  338 pp.

Loneliness and longing is a huge topic. After evolving for millions of years, we social mammals have developed a profoundly complex system for attachment. The experience of non-connection can range from mild longing to a catastrophic affective state with lifelong consequences. Willock, Bohm, and Curtis have enlisted 25 authors to engage this loneliness behemoth theoretically and clinically. Their stated intent was to “address the inner sense of

loneliness—that is, feeling alone even in the company of others—by drawing on different aspects of loneliness and longing” (p. i). These aspects included loneliness in the consulting room, the relationship between loneliness and love, the effects of social networking and the Internet, how loneliness changes throughout the life cycle, and healing the analyst's loneliness. It is a broad net, indeed, that is required to contain such a creature.

The 26 chapters here are organized into 10 sections, some of which are more cohesive than others. Bohm's straightforward introduction describes the contents of each chapter clearly and succinctly. Although all the chapters were interesting and worthwhile reading, for the sake of brevity I will review several of the contributions that stood out for me.

In the opening chapter, Sandra Buechler candidly and eloquently blends clinical and personal observations with a review of some of the psychoanalytic literature on loneliness. One quote seemed to capture a nugget for understanding the nuances of this experience. She writes, “The experience of aloneness is therefore shaped, partially by who we are with when we are alone, and by whether or not other emotions, such as curiosity are prominent. A third factor is whether or not the aloneness was chosen” (p. 16). This chapter piqued my interest, and I was looking forward to more exploration of the complexity of our internal objects/relationships and loneliness.

Section 2 includes three chapters about loneliness and the Internet. This is a fascinatin