I received a copy of "Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19" from Podium Audio in exchange for an honest review and I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed this audio book. It's a collection of short stories and poems depicting real life experiences of COVID-19 collected from 90 authors. Some of the stories are longer than others and some are pretty quick; but overall, they were all enjoyable.

The audio book was a roller coaster of emotions as I cried, laughed and smiled throughout my entire listening experience. The collections were focused around both the good and sorrowful insight of how these authors were impacted by the pandemic. Any reader could relate to the various stories and poems as we have all experienced COVID-19.

The book is told in five separate sections: (1) What Now?, (2) Greive, (3) Comfort, (4) Connect, and (5) Don't Stop. All five sections take a look at how COVID-19 has forever changed us and society. Some of these authors have suffered by loosing loved ones to the virus as well as watching family members contract the virus and recover. Other authors describe their own personal experiences with contracting the virus. As readers we see the devastating effects this virus has had on many.

Other aspects of the stories discuss how quarantine has affected many of us. Some of us are alone, while others are stuck in dire situations. These are unprecedented times and this book reminds that we are all in this together. Even though we may be alone and viewing the pandemic from different frames of mind, we are all experiencing something simular. COVID-19 has forever changed our lives and the stories and poems of this book show us that humility still exists in a world full of chaos.

An amazing collection of essays, poems , and short stories revolving around Covid -19.
This is a heartbreaking, inspiring, and thought provoking collection.
This really helped me see lockdown and the pandemic from so many other sides.

I highly recommend this book, and I love the fact the proceeds go to a great cause.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

As someone who has worked through the Covid-19 pandemic as a nursing sister, I have seen a lot of heartbreaking things. This audio book was sad and I feel it could have been more uplifting with some positive experiences of lockdown.

This was the perfect book to read and reflect upon as 2020 wraps up (even though at times, it felt a bit TOO close to home!) As many have mentioned this year, we are living through unprecedented times -- a time of change, a time where things feel out of control, a time that caused us to all slow down and stay home -- yet, as this book makes very clear, we are not experiencing this alone.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the variety of authors, experiences, and the cause that it supports. I have to admit that I was a little confused and disappointed in some of the stories -- I wish that it conveyed more about how Covid-19 has affected people other than writers (for example, teachers, doctors, parents, frontline workers, etc). This book seemed primarily based in early quarantine days (March - May 2020), which is incredible that it was written, gathered, and published so quickly. But, it's December 2020 and we are still experiencing the impact of Covid-19, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for an Alone Together Volume 2.

Highly recommend reading, reflecting, and adding this book to your bookshelf to remember this year.
Thank you to Netgalley and Podium Audio for an audiobook version of this fantastic anthology in exchange for an honest review.

ALONE TOGETHER: Love, Grief, and Comfort During the Time of COVID-19 is a collection of essays, poems, and interviews to serve as a lifeline for negotiating how to connect and thrive during this stressful time of isolation as well as a historical perspective that will remain relevant for years to come.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!

I really wanted to like this book but it left me sad. It was too much like real life right now and books-for me at least- should be an escape from these crazy times. I liked certain aspects and my favorite story was about the Stanford professor.

I didn't get very far into this book before I had to stop listening. It's incredibly boring yet somehow also sensationalises the pandemic. I appreciate that this book is a charity collection, but that doesn't make it a good read.

I was able to listen to an excerpt of the audiobook. The excerpt really hit home for me. I did not enjoy the voice of that particular narrator however, and think I would prefer to read this on my Kindle or in physical form. I look forward to reading the rest of the selections in the future. I actually just saw this available at Target and would purchase it if I see it there again.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
This was a moving and poignant collection of first person narratives. I loved being able to relate to so many different people I had never met. COVID-19 and its wide reaching impact has been a shared experience for so many. However, living in isolation its hard to always feel connected. This was a fantastic way to unite through this difficult shared experience.

2020 has certainly challenged us in many ways, but as isolated as we may have felt individually, it does help somewhat knowing that we have all been facing these challenges simultaneously. This book is a series of tales chronicling how many different folks have faced the challenges of quarantining and dealing since the onset of COVID-19 brought things to a screeching halt this past spring. While nothing feels normal, it helps to know we aren’t truly alone in this struggle.

This was a wonderful anthology of perhaps the scariest time in history for many of us. While it may sound depressing to listen to people talk about their own journey through this pandemic, it is actually uplifting and encouraging as you feel not so alone in the daily struggles and mind games COVID has played on all of us with insolation and uncertainty. Beautifully written and highly enjoyed the audio- made me feel connected to the stories. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Alone Together is an amazing book, and the audio version is a perfect example of how a great story can be enhanced by the audio version of the book. It is a collections of essays, poems, interviews and conversations about how people are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic written by many of my favorite authors. I tried reading the ebook when it was first released and found it to be an amazing story but a bit too close to our really challenging current reality to read the entire book, so I put it aside for later after reading a few chapters.

Listening to the audio version of the story really drew me in to each of the writers' stories. It is read by a huge cast of fantastic narrators and many of the chapters are narrated by their authors. I could feel the pain and struggles in their voices and many of them moved me to tears and to pause my listening to take it all in. I could not ask for more than this from any book! It's a great way to reflect on what we've all been through in the past year and how we can look forward into a new future.

This was a very interesting and timely collection of essays. Alone Together contains so many different Covid thoughts, experiences, and interviews. They range in length from a poem with a few lines to a personal story that is several minutes long. The editor, Jennifer Haupt has assembled a diverse group of 90 terrific writers for this project. Plus, the sales will go to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, a group founded to help struggling indie booksellers.

When I first began listening to this it completely tripped me out. So much of what I know about experiencing the pandemic is from what I see on the news. To actually hear it straight from a person instead of MSNBC felt so intimate. Like, I forgot they were strangers.

There were many times that I almost blurted out, “Oh my goodness, me too!!” The title Alone Together fits not only our physical circumstances but also the vibe of the book perfectly.

While this was a solid group of essays, there are a few weaker ones and a couple I thought my eyes might roll back in my head listening to the author’s privilege. 🤦🏼‍♀️ However, these are truly in the minority.

Also, heads up. These essays can be intense. There were a couple about folks dying that I just couldn’t do, especially with covid worries causing increased anxiety. I could see that some people may not want to read it because it’s too soon and the collective trauma of the pandemic is still ongoing.

More than anything, this book gave me some much-needed moments of connection and “I see you” during a horrible year for our world.

Thank you to @netgalley for the chance to review this audiobook.

I usually don't like to give memoirs ratings because these are the authors stories & theirs to tell not to be rated upon so please know a 3 star review is just a medium spot not a reflection of the words within this book. Considering 2020 has been a trying year on so many of us all around the world I felt like this book came at a great time being able to read stories & experiences to relate to, to make us feel that a although we may be alone at home, social distancing we aren't alone, we are together during this time, going through very similar things. The audio was easy to listen to, the narrators did a great job as well. I was able to listen at a 2 speed without a problem, if that's too fast you can slow it down to 1.75 or 1.5 without it seeming as if its dragging. I love that this was a collection of stories from so many different individuals & would recommend this book....we may not want to remember this year but this book is definitely one that sheds light on what 2020 has been like & will be part of our history forever.

I voluntarily listened to an advanced copy of this audiobook. It is well written and it tugs your heartstrings. It makes you think about everyone is doing during this rough year because of the pandemic of Covid-19. It is a emotional book. It will make you cry. This is a good anthology. I would recommend this audiobook to anyone and everyone. The narrator's did a great job reading each story in the anthology.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in ebook and audiobook formats in exchange for an honest review.

Reading of other peoples’ experiences of the pandemic isn’t something that everyone will be comfortable with at this time, but many of these stories, were actually surprisingly uplifting. Don’t get me wrong, there are some real tear-jerkers but for the most part I finished this collection with a little more faith in humanity than I have in general this year.

With any anthology that brings together such a large number of authors there were hits and misses. Overall I was impressed by the range of styles and the diversity of the authors included. Each story or poem was completely different and though largely on the same theme, it never became repetitive.

3 out of 5 stars!

This is a compilation of stories centering life during Covid-19.

For some people, it might be too soon for a book like this. The experiences could be triggering, especially since we are still in the middle of this pandemic. Consider this my content warning.

The tone of the stories ranged from devastating to hopeful and everything in between. We are in the middle of a global pandemic, and so many people are experiencing it differently. This book gives insight and voice to some of those different experiences.

The book was divided into five sections: What now?, Grieve, Comfort, Connect, and Don’t Stop. The collection of writing varied from poetry, to essays, to interviews. Each chapter I held my breath, waiting to cry, laugh, or roll my eyes.

While I was reading this, I was also reading Intimations by Zadie Smith. She provides a different perspective, she writes about life in lockdown. I liked that she really explored privilege in the pandemic. It was a good pairing I think. Also, intimations was fairly short but it packed packed a punch. I definitely recommend both books if you’re looking for something pretty deep and heavy.

Thank you to the authors, editor, publisher, and @NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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. I loved how the audiobook of this had a full cast with all of the authors who participated in creating this book.

CW: death, eating disorders, sexual assault, PTSD

I think I might have preferred this more in the physical format as I would have preferred to consume it a few essays at a time as it felt really long on audio and sometimes dragged on. However, I did enjoy the essays and poetry, and I especially enjoyed the full cast narration in the audio version.

Alone Together is an important read about the challenges we are facing in the Coronavirus pandemic. This book had many different voices, with different authors contributing to the book as well as different people speaking in each piece. My favorite part was being able to hear the different people speaking about their own views and experiences during these hard times. Alone Together is definitely good to listen to right now, and will be nice to listen to and reflect upon in a few years from now!