The Opposite of Loneliness

"We don't have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that's what I want in life."

Marina Keegan

The Opposite of Loneliness

This book took me completely by surprise. It was one that had been on the best seller shelf at Maria's for quite some time. People had said that "It was a bunch of stories about a girl who died," or "a collection of writings by a girl who died." The "died" was always emphasized, and I pushed it off to the side because I find there are enough dead girls in literature. What I found, upon picking this book up, that while this collection was published after the author of the pieces died, the pieces themselves were a commentary on life, as were the introduction, dedication, and epilogue written by teachers, parents, and friends who obviously missed her. 

The Opposite of Loneliness is an amazing literary collection. It consists of short stories and non-fiction essays, and both are wonderful. The short stories ranged between several different subjects, from breakups, to managing adoption, to getting a tattoo that supposedly means "Inner resolve and outer peace, a general levelheadedness and tranquility" but actually means "soybean" in Chinese, to a group of people trapped in a sub at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. What they had in common is that they were all wonderful. They had a wonderful range, well developed characters, had wonderful flow and intrigue. I know that I would have loved to see some of them developed into novels some day. 

The essays were equally wonderful. They asked hard and thought provoking questions, for example why we are much more willing to help whales than people, or will the human race die off if we don't find a way to someday leave Earth, as well as offering personal and touching stories of how both her and her mother experienced and dealt with her Celiac's  disease and how she felt about her approaching graduation from Yale. They were eloquent and thought provoking, and unbelievably fresh. 

I loved this collection. I think that anyone between the ages of 18-26 should read it. It's inspirational, beautiful, and feels infinitely personal (at least it did to me). I also think that everyone 26 and up should read it. It's a wonderful reminder that we can achieve anything we want, that we should never settle, and that it is never to late to start over. This collection was magnificent.