The Top 10 Books for Introverts about the Joys and Strength of Solitude

Originally Submitted on 7/1/2003.

1. Solitude, a Return to the Self by Anthony Storr

Review from Library Journal: "British psychotherapist Storr takes issue with the predominate view in the West that intimate relationships are the exclusive source and measure of mental health and personal satisfaction. In this far-reaching work, he considers the impact of voluntary as well as enforced solitude, particularly on creative persons such as composers, writers, and philosophers. Their efforts take place chiefly in solitude, and Storr argues that solitude has restorative value for the ordinary individual as well. ..." Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

2. The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine N. Aron

Review from Amazon.com: "Are you an HSP? Are you easily overwhelmed by stimuli? Affected by other people's moods? Easily startled? Do you need to withdraw during busy times to a private, quiet place? Do you get nervous or shaky if someone is observing you or competing with you? HSP, shorthand for 'highly sensitive person,' describes 15 to 20 percent of the population...." --Joan Price

3. The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World by Marti Olsen Laney

One of the few books written to help introverts sort out their legitimate personality characteristics in a positive frame of reference.

4. Party of One: The Loners' Manifesto by Anneli S. Rufus

Readers explore the lives of famous, infamous and pseudo "loners" in this fascinating travel through time and space.

5. The Tender Heart: Conquering Your Insecurity by Joseph Nowinski

Joseph Nowinski talks about characteristics of insecurity and how it can be worked with constructively in rleationship.

6. Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton

This book is a meditation on the creative process nurtured by living alone and is an inspiration to many introverts for its quiet strength and deep joy.

7. A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life by Wayne Teasdale, Ken Wilber

In this sensitive and inspiring book, Teasdale explains how to live in two worlds -- how to introduce periods of silence and solitude into daily life and other matters of interest to those who come from within.

8. Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Types by Isabel Briggs Myers with Peter B. Myers

From the lady who originated the "type" testing of the Myers-Briggs personality inventory, this book, written by an introvert, helps introverts identify themselves as a legitimate personality type.

9. Celebrating Time Alone: Stories of Splendid Solitude by Lionel L. Fisher

Review by Amazon.com: "For six years, Lionel Fisher lived by himself on a remote Pacific Northwest beach, where he had ample time to reflect on how to use solitude to become a happier, more fulfilled person. In a writing style at once eloquent and down to earth, Fisher interweaves his own experiences with other people’s real-life stories to affirm the life-changing benefits of being alone."

10. Fifty Days of Solitude by Doris Grumbach

Review from Publishers Weekly: "This quiet, elegantly written memoir by critic, novelist and essayist Grumbach ( Coming into the End Zone ) sensitively depicts the mingled pleasure and privation of turning one's back on the world...."

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