This perfectly timed anthology puts into words so many of the feelings I’ve been having since the pandemic started. The authors have expressed what I myself couldn’t understand and it has been a soothing catharsis to see my own fears reflected back at me.

The variety of experiences were valuable to, showing that no matter the personal situation, many of us have similar thoughts and fears during this uncertain time.

I will be recommending this to all my friends and family who are struggling, hoping it will help them find peace like it did me.

Overall, I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5 stars. It was simply everything I expected (and needed) it to be. I can't give it a full five stars because I did not connect with every author/stories told in this story but honestly, wow. I highly highly highly reccomend it, especially if you were struggling and feeling alone during quarantine. PLUS, this book helps raise funds for The Book Industry Charitable Foundation! How cool is that?? There is something for everyone in this book and it is highly relevant right now and, in my opinion, necessary. I'm so glad this book is a thing!

Reading this collection of essays, poems, and interviews was like receiving a big, warm hug from my late grandmother. It was like eating a bowl of her homemade chicken noodle soup, a handful of her delicious chocolate chip cookies, and followed by a hot mug of tea. Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort During the Time of COVID-19 is the book we all need to read right now. It’s comfort food for our minds, bodies, and souls. How many times have you heard in the past six months, “We’re all in this together!” This collection validates it, yet shows that we all have our different ways of dealing with it, experiencing it, and surviving it. Definitely check this one out on release day, September 1st.

I think that, in the future, when all of this is only a bad memory, I could enjoy this book more. The content is really good and I did related to a lot of it, but, right now, while living through this pandemic, I dont really want to read more about it. I expected the book to be more like a "this too shall pass" kind of thing, but it is not.

I can see a lot of people enjoying this book and really connecting with it but I just didn’t feel that way. I don’t think this book is for me and there’s nothing wrong with that! I think it just kept dragging on and I was taking forever to get through it. This was very middle of the road for me. There were a few essays and poems that I really enjoyed but most were just okay. I think I might have had the wrong interpretation of the synopsis of this book which is completely my fault. I was just expecting something a little different. I think I would’ve liked this better if Covid was more in the past rather than still an issue we need to deal with every day still.

Alone Together is the kind of book I like to review. It’s literally a no brainer, and quite the necessary read for everyone. And I mean EVERYONE.
Jennifer Haupt reached out to fellow authors via Facebook a month after the quarantine began “looking for some way to make a dent in the overwhelming grief and devastation” hoping other authors would be feeling the same way. After that, it only took 2 months to put the book together, and the result was inspiring. With a group of 76 bestselling and up-and-coming-authors contributing (55 in print edition and another 21 in the digital edition) they had enough stories for this compilation to divide it into 5 sections: What Now?, Grieve, Comfort, Connect, And Don’t Stop. And guess what? All net profits for this book will be donated to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation.

The one overwhelming feeling I got from reading this was an eye opening awareness that I am really not alone in this house by myself. There are other people out there, quarantining, wearing masks, hoarding TP, and struggling through the same day to day issues that I am. Some of them struggling a bit more, some a bit less, and some are making the best of what they have and appreciating each day as it comes. It’s hard to review a book like this, its like reviewing a mini autobiography of 76 different people, each one of them taking time to share a part of themselves to the world and how they are coping in their own unique way.

Reading this was a godsend. It’s an emotional saga of both happy and sad, yet comforting in some way. All our anxieties , fears, and worries are not just our own, we are in this together believe it or not, and this book reminds us that we are all humans just trying make it through the day, just trying to get along, and just trying to exist.

Each story is short, and the book is an easy read. I highly recommend this to everyone out there, however you feel. There is no way this gets any less than 5 stars from me.
They say, misery loves company. Well, this book pretty much invites all of the company over to your house *with masks on, to let you know your emotions are palpable, legitimate and just downright okay.

When I saw Alone Together for the first time, reading that it was an anthology of essays, poems, and interviews by various authors about life in the time of the current Covid-19 pandemic I knew I needed to read it. I have personally found great comfort in the "all in this together" feeling of the pandemic, that feeling of knowing everyone in the world is dealing with this. The way people have been showing up to support each other, share their experiences, and be a shoulder for strangers. This was exactly the feeling that Alone Together gave me while reading it.

I felt a kinship to so many of these authors as we explore an array of experiences and emotions, emotions that by now, I have felt most of. I laughed out loud, I cried in bed, I really went through the full spectrum of feelings while reading this. These pieces were so thoughtful and heartfelt, I have to applaud everyone who participated, everyone who found the energy in the isolation to create for this project. It was moving and I think it's so important to be open and vulnerable with this experience, it makes everyone feel less alone.

If this sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend purchasing a copy. All contributors are donating their share to The Book Industry Charitable Foundation, an organization that coordinates charitable programs to strengthen the bookselling community.


Thanks so much to Netgalley, and the publisher, Central Avenue Publishing for gifting me a copy of this for review!

This book combines several tales (and poems) regarding different families during the quarantine days. It’s truly sad to read about everyone who lost their jobs. One thing this pandemic showed all of us is that our lives are precious and we need to be brave. I really enjoyed reading this book and finding out how everyone spent their days and how they felt during this confinement period. Rating: 4/5 stars.

This book really touched me. Since its main topic is COVID-19, I think every reader will relate to one (or more!) of the essays/stories in some way. I think it’s beautiful how a team of writers can piece together such a beautiful collection of stories and touch so many readers with it.
Some stories were more relatable to me and touched me more than others, but overall every story had its own beauty and meaning. Each story was unique and honest and I loved that.

Alone Together is an absolutely amazing collection of pieces--poems, interview, short stories-- by many authors whose work is as varying as their personal experiences with the world of COVID-19, yet all of their different experiences show that we are all in this together. Some of the works are about hope and some about loss, some are simple observations and some complex looks at people and their reactions to adversities, COVID and otherwise. Some will make you laugh and some will make you cry, but all of them work to show the reader that they are not alone in their feelings about our new-normal; even when we are all apart, both physically and as our own unique, individual selves, we are not alone. 

There are too many individual pieces in this collection to go through, but the one that I found the most connection to was “Sibling Estrangement and Social Distancing” by Caroline Leavitt.  A little about me: Almost 10 years ago I had to distance, actually eliminate, myself from my immediate family due to the toxicity, addiction and denial within the family. Since then I have lost two family members and my niece was born premature and was in the NICU, but I wasn't told and found out in other ways. I have had some hope that COVID would help them to change and improve, and that they would become the family that I would allow my children to be around, but alas, that has not happened. 

I highly recommend Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort During the Time of COVID-19. I really feel that everyone can relate to at least one of the pieces in this collection, and they serve to show that we are not alone and we can overcome this together. All net profits from the same of this novel will be donated to BINC, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation and it is available ‪September 1st‬; be sure to check it out, maybe at an indie bookstore!

Thank you to Jennifer Haupt, Kate Rock Book Tours and Netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of Alone Together, given in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

Alone Together shows the coming together of people with all sorts of experiences . What they are experiencing may be alone in one sense, but in another sense, it is a coming together of people who are sharing their experiences on the page in the Alone Together book. There are just so many stories and poems within this book from so many people’s experiences, whether it is from a political or work angle or a relationship angle or the sadness of death. Each one personal to the writer and yet people will be able to find, at least some that are relatable to their own experiences of quarantine and of Covid 19 and its effects. I think some may find reading this book cathartic in a way, or perhaps it will give people time to pause, to gather their own thoughts. It perhaps it could bring some more kindness and compassion into the world from even more people who, after reading through these stories, might start to understand a little more about how another person is feeling. Not everyone will have lost something or someone during the pandemic and, whilst it is true that no one can really know what that feels like until it has been experienced, this book can and does at least shed some light on things like this. Everyone has experienced the pandemic that bit differently from the next. I have from all of my neighbours, very, very differently and this book also shows that there are so many experiences and so many stories to be told and so many that may be untold.

Jennifer Haupt introduces herself as an introvert, but one who also has positive interactions with others. She doesn’t completely shut herself away. She talks of how her connections when quarantine hit, had somewhat frayed and she felt a desire to take some sort of action to help others. She documents a conversation between herself and Kwame Alexander. Kwame Alexander is the Innovator-in-Residence of London, and the New York Times bestselling author of 34 books. They believe people’s shared experiences, with the help of technology, such as Zoom are bringing people together. Now, this I can agree on as I have also had the opportunity to talk to people on Zoom, I may never have before, because of circumstance or because I didn’t know of their existence until now.

There is a section, demonstrating how introverts are happy to “shelter” in one place and do the whole Netflix, bake bread etc and staying in becomes the norm…. until…. the other half wants to venture outside!!!
She candidly talks about her experiences of all this and the changes that have to be made.

She then moves onto those, identified most at risk of Covid 19 and how amongst them are people of different backgrounds. She also documents the life of a man who was killed.
She also writes about weaponry, it seems to be both in physical form and in the language used. Neither of which is useful of course. It really shows the US in not the best of lights at all. There seems to be a rawness and truth about the book.

There is a beautiful poem (For Maya Angelou) by Nikki Giovanni. It is beautiful and full of truth. I love the verse about how her friend died. Not because I love death, I do not. It’s because it is so matter of fact and almost like she is fed-up of people using different ways of describing it, such as “lost”. This poem is also full of love and compassion and real feeling that so many people who have a dead loved one can relate to. I certainly can.

Shedding is another poem, this time it focuses on the virus, but also about how we as humans can take time to lose the unimportant things and instead, focus and do what is important to each other and to show compassion.

Sit The Hell Down by Dinty W. Moore is about her deciding to retire from teaching…. Then the pandemic arrived and it isn’t at all what she expected. Instead of doing lots of things, she stares out the window as she stays home. It’s moving and poignant. Her writing, of how this time is described is creative.

Kevin Sempsell demonstrates Books On Pause as events were cancelled. It’s also about feeling helpless and how he’s afraid about what might happen in the publishing world.

There is an interview between Jennifer Haupt and David Sheff about grieving and it highlights drug addiction as someone in his family died of this. They also talk of how the US had, what seemed like optimism and high hopes, only to see them dashed, so many times and how this too can cause a certain type of grief and anger and sometimes, activism. It’s an interesting, wide-ranging interview with grief at the heart of its subject.

Kelli Russell Agodon and Melissa Studdard have over-indulged in chocolate, but it isn’t really about that. It gives a sense of helplessness and yet also a desire to help the entire world and to someone hold it all, encapsulated someway, but they say “I Kind Of Want To Love The World, But I Have No Idea How to Hold It.”

There is a River of Grief by Grace Tulusan. It’s beautifully written and described. It says how it is. That when someone dies, there is no one around to hug and the rituals of burial that cannot happen how they used to. It captures so much of what so many people are experiencing/have experienced.

Jennifer Haupt also interviewed Dani Shapiro, which focuses on Comfort and how people in the medical world and beyond want to help and don’t wish to be called heroes, they see it as their job.

Three O’Clock by Jennie Shortridge is altogether alarming and brave at the response of panic that Covid 19 has evoked as the flight or fight reaction kicked in and yet seems grateful for those who helped.

Jean Kwok is Searching For Grace in her story of dance and kindness of family. The way it is told is interesting as different parts of life merge.

In the section called Connect, there’s a story of just a few pages called Zooming The Subtle Body and it is creatively written. The use of imagery is fascinating. This appears to be a type of Yoga.

And Do Not Stop is all about exactly that. It seems to be about still continuing to celebrate the days that are special for America (and of course whatever country you are in.
Postcard From New York however also shows in-contrast how some things did stop and traffic depleted. It’s amazing and happened in cities all around the world. New York was so busy and then she writes about the contrast so immediately, so strikingly that it was like a line had been drawn between pre-covid and present covid times and although quieter, people do still take the chance to roam around the city.

This is a book that will touch everyone is some way as everyone has experiences in Covid 19 that aren’t just personal to them, but may be similar to some you read in this book. The book can be treated as a coming together, even though you may not have written within it. Although people may be alone just now, there can be a certain type of togetherness found within these pages. There are many other pieces of writing within this book, which are also very good. The ones I selected to focus on for the review are those I thought resonated most and were the ones I thought demonstrated the topic well, to give you, the next readers, a taste of what you can expect.

I wish to conclude my review of this by saying this:
As the world opens up more and more, the pandemic has not gone away and is still infectious and deadly. I hope everyone stays well.
Please note that this is not related to Alone Together Group that (if in the UK), you may have seen on news programmes.

This was an interesting collection to read... people from all walks of life, people who have had the virus and those who have not. At times the writings were depressing, but other times the prose sparkled with how beautiful it was. During this unusual, unprecedented, historic time we're living in right now, this anthology proves to be a comforting companion.

In these crazy and unprecedented times, this read was fantastic. I think everyone has suffered in their own way due to the pandemic and it is such a beautiful collection of short stories and poems all about the first few months of COVID quarantine. Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley, Central Avenue and Kate Rock Book Tours for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Alone Together
By: Jennifer Haupt


REVIEW ☆☆☆☆

We're all in this together. Have you heard someone say that? Do you really believe it? Is it laughable to ascertain we are all together when we've never been more isolated? Has the isolation made your life better in some ways? Alone Together by Jennifer Haupt is an anthology of COVID-19 essays, interviews, stories and poems that offer perspectives from every angle.

This worldwide pandemic seems like a dystopian novel. I've read numerous stories about viruses and plagues causing death, isolation and preventative measures. Then, I look around and see people wearing masks and social distancing from others. I honestly, naively, never thought I would see anything like this happen. From the page the pandemic story jumped, and it goes walking by now, wearing a mask. Is this real?

Each author in this anthology shows us that the pandemic is real. There are endless ways to experience isolation. With so much death and tragedy, it seems odd to think anything good could grow from this. Yet, people have reconnected, strangers have shared infinite acts of kindness, some have changed their lifestyles, discovered hidden talents and heroes have emerged. People shine in times of darkness.

Alone Together is a book for everyone. The contents tell the horrible truth-raw, sharp and unflinching-because grief and death should never be glossed over or portrayed lightly. Paradoxically, the good I mentioned is here, too. COVID-19 has forever changed our lives. This anthology will, years from now, serve as part of history, a reminder of who we were, who we are and who we have become.

I love anthologies and this sounded like the perfect comforting read for this dark time. It was nice to explore different writers' experiences of the pandemic, and hear lots of different perspectives on how it has affected them. I really enjoyed most of the stories - there were just a few I just didn't 'get'. There were also a couple that were unexpectedly dark to the point where I almost stopped reading at one point. Those stories didn't quite fit in for me and are the reason I can only give this 4/5 stars. Although many stories are positive, I feel the cover paints a lighthearted picture whereas actually it is quite a dark book at times. My favourites parts were the interviews - this broke the book up nicely and I really appreciated the brutal honesty and vulnerability shown. This book was a great idea and I'd love to see a similar UK concept.

Alone together is a necessary collection that is very much needed and incredibly helpful during such a difficult time as the worldwide pandemic. As someone who has been in a weird mental place and struggling - this is just what I needed to help brighten my spirits.

Short stories written by authors about this pandemic. They were off what they are going through and what they are saying others go through. There are some poems as well as stories. I didn't recognize a lot of the names but one said this that stuck with me: "the pandemic is happening to ALL of us. There is no one on the planet who is not being affected by this disaster". It's true, this is affecting every human being. We all have different experiences.
I'm glad I was able to read this!

A much needed, thoughtful, anthology of stories and poetry reflecting this time in a global pandemic.

A collection of short stories and poems all about the first few months of COVID quarantine. There is something for everyone but not all will probably resonate. This will definitely be a great addition to the time capsule of our society so we remember all the nuances of this pandemic. Thank you Jennifer Haupt for the ARC.

I was very fortunate to be given early access to this book - thank you again to publisher Michelle Halket, author Jennifer Haupt and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this. Alone Together is a collection of essays, poems, and interviews by a selection of authors and poets about their thoughts, feelings and experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. I wasn’t sure if this would be too close to home with the lockdown only just easing over in the UK, but the minute I started reading this I couldn’t put this down. The collection is written primarily by authors from the U.S. - even though I live in the UK, and each country has a different experience of lockdown at different stages, the updates on the pandemic situation within the U.S. is one I also feel BBC News in particular followed closely.

A beautiful introduction from Jennifer Haupt - she really weighs up the some of the lovely things that have come out of lockdown, such as the Zoom calls and social aspects from the virtual connection, yet she speaks about how important it is to have the balance of seeing people in real life as well. At no point did I feel that any of the writing glorified the pandemic - if anything, they were all very real and honest and a true depiction of the reality people have faced in the past few months. It was funny at times, pointing out some of the crazy things some of us have sworn we’d never do: staring at the walls lost in thoughts, grocery shopping every day of the week as a form of escapism etc., although these were written with humour, they were highly relatable.

One topic that was approached a few times in various pieces was the subject of racism, particularly in light of George Floyd’s death. An essay in the first section by Andrea King Collier tells a story from when she was a young girl out shopping with her granddad, when a racist woman with a young toddler sat in the seat of the shopping trolley, for no apparent reason, shouts the n word to them both before walking into the supermarket. A few aisles later, they come across the same baby, choking.
Everyone was stood around fretting, yet Andrea’s grandad held out his hands, patted the baby on the back and saved her life. The racist Mum says nothing, not even a thank you. Andrea asked her grandad why he saved the baby’s life, and the moral of the story that she took away from her grandad was ‘good people look out for each other’. What a heartbreaking experience to have so young, and a selfless act from her grandfather.

Martha Anne Toll’s essay was an interesting read as well, as she writes over a period of a couple of weeks and updates the reader on her symptoms and health throughout having COVID-19. There’s been many accounts by people writing of similar experiences, but this gives you a real sense of the timeline and symptoms of COVID 19, and the affect this has on her family. There’s such a diverse range of content in this book - I can highly recommend this for anyone that’s looking to discover writing about COVID-19. It’s something I can imagine will date beautifully and act as a time capsule to look back on in years to come. Do check it out when it’s released on 1st September 2020!