The Politics of Lonely: Why is Friendship so Hard?

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Lee Arden is white, trans, an anarchist, a Quaker, and is originally from Algonquin land in the Ottawa Valley, now calling Montreal/Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang home. Lee founded and runs Sheer Spite Press, producing and distributing beautiful, affordable, political books and zines, with a focus on personal narratives. They are also the author of many zines, including PALS, and Surprisingly OK: What Healing Trauma Feels Like.

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Widespread loneliness reflects a world of crappy jobs and unaffordable housing that makes it almost impossible to have close, interwoven friendships. A dwindling social safety net takes a toll on us and on our relationships. Particularly for queer people, friendships can be crucial relations of equality, constancy, and care. Still, we disappoint each other and fall into irreparable conflict.

A less lonely world is possible. Through interviews, research, and personal narrative, this book shows how people build tight connections despite living in the austere conditions of colonial capitalism — boldly weaving a new social fabric as this one unravels.