The Politics of Lonely

Alexis Shotwell, author of Against Purity: Living Ethically in Compromised Times

“A friend-letter (which is like a love-letter, but more complicated) to the ordinary glory of being with others, in all our mess and beauty, The Politics of Lonely is an incisive call to build worlds in which friendship is more and more accessible, for everyone.”

Nora Loreto, author of The Social Safety Net

“There are few things as mundane in our lives as friendship, but also, few things as important that are also as unprobed. What makes a friend? What do we need from others? How do our relationships buoy our happiness or exacerbate our loneliness? Lee Arden has given us a lot to think about in this radical examination of one of society’s most important social bonds.”

Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, author of Terry Dactyl

“The Politics of Lonely made me feel less lonely. Yes, this is a book that invokes the radical potential of queer friendship—all the dreams and aspirations—without neglecting to address the personal, intimate, and structural failures. Drawing from a wide variety of voices in literature, critical thinking—and, yes, friendship—this book moves us toward everyday intimacy, collaboration, mutual aid, protest, communal living, and an expansion of care networks to provide a safety net for everyone.”

Ardath Whynacht, author of Insurgent Love

“Lee Arden offers a thoughtful meditation on what austerity has done to our friendships, with a pragmatic and radically grounded pathway to transform and rebuild a social safety net in the spaces between us.”

Cindy Barukh Milstein, editor of Constellations of Care: Anarcha-Feminism in Practice

“Arden’s exploration of friendship as ‘the highest ideal of love’ is essential medicine for these dehumanizing times. It is neither bitter pill nor sugarcoated remedy for what ails our ability to make friendship live up to our aspirations. Instead, it is dreamily homeopathic, mixing up a tonic to strengthen our broken hearts. It is at once vulnerable and brave, messily honest and truly beautiful, deeply personal and systemically political, reminding us that friendship is ‘worth the struggle,’ as part and parcel of social transformation.”