This episode’s guest is Sunday Times bestselling author Cheryl Rickman. Cheryl’s latest book, Navigating Loneliness: How To Connect With Yourself and Others, is an insightful, comprehensive handbook to finding the balance between solitude and loneliness – through cultivating the most meaningful, fulfilling relationships possible with yourself and others. Cheryl is a woman after my own heart – as you might suspect from the title of her book, her anti-loneliness toolkit is just as much about time alone as it is time with others. This was such a fascinating and refreshing conversation. Cheryl talks inspirationally about the purpose of reframing loneliness, not as something to be scared of or to stigmatise, but actually as a useful evolutionary signal that points us towards making positive changes in our lives. Cheryl also shares her personal experience of loneliness – how she learnt to love time alone as an only child, but her relationship with it changed when she lost her mother as a teenager – and she had to develop stronger, more meaningful connections elsewhere.I’m so grateful for Cheryl’s nuggets of wisdom – and I’m sure you’ll find a lot of practical takeaway in what she has to say. Happy listening! SOCIALSYou can find Cheryl on Instagram at @wellbeingauthor and Twitter at @writeruk. As ever, follow Alonement on Instagram @alonementofficial, and follow host Francesca Specter on Twitter @ChezSpecterYou can learn more about the Marmalade Trust and the work they do on Twitter (@marmaladetrust) and Instagram (marmalade_trust) Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.