Alone Together

This illustrated nonfiction book for middle-grade readers explores loneliness and the lessons we can learn about connection even when we're alone. Is one the loneliest number?
The world is facing an epidemic of loneliness.

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us new words, like isolation, quarantine and social distancing. In places like the UK and Japan, governments have appointed ministers of loneliness to examine the problem and find ways to help their citizens. What does it mean to be lonely, and what can we do about it?

Alone Together explores what superheroes can teach us about being alone, the ways kids have survived on their own and how activists in the civil rights movement took a stand against loneliness. Discover what comfort foods, sweatpants and being kind to each other have to do with loneliness.

Based on the podcast of the same name. Readers will learn about loneliness and how being alone can ultimately bring us closer together.
Key Selling Points

• This book explores loneliness and the lessons we can learn about how it can bring people together.

• Loneliness is a global phenomenon that affects people young and old. In the UK (2019) and Japan (2020) governments appointed ministers of loneliness to tackle the problem in their respective countries.

• The COVID-19 pandemic school closures, lockdowns and social-distancing rules took a toll on youth mental health and put their loneliness and isolation in the spotlight.

• Author Petti Fong is the host and researcher of the Alone Together podcast. It was launched during the pandemic and features interviews with more than 200 people around the world with expertise on and insight into loneliness. The show has been heard in more than 30 countries and downloaded by hundreds of thousands of listeners.
What's the big idea? Orca Think introduces us to the issues making headlines in the world today. It encourages us to question, connect and take action for a better future. With those tools we can all become better citizens. Now that's smart thinking!
Petti Fong is a journalist, educator and author. She was a staff reporter at the Vancouver Sun, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and CBC and now writes for The Economist. Petti teaches journalism, ethics and business communications at Kwantlen University, Langara College and the University of British Columbia. During the pandemic she created and hosted a podcast with interviews from experts around the world on the topic of isolation and loneliness. The podcast, Alone Together, has been downloaded by hundreds of thousands of listeners and heard in more than 30 countries. Petti lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Jonathan Dyck is an illustrator, designer and cartoonist. Since graduating from design school he has worked with a range of clients across various applications, from editorial illustration in magazines and books to logo design and illustrations for coffee mugs, T-shirts and posters. Jonathan lives in Winnipeg, on Treaty 1 Territory and the homeland of the Métis Nation.