[Solitude at all ages]

The feeling of loneliness follows us throughout our lives--we can't get away from it, maintains the author. However, we can learn to cope with loneliness in a positive way, by discovering how to enjoy our own company. Even from earliest infancy, children can be given the security and self-confidence needed to resist the inevitable separations from their parents and significant others. For adults, the author suggests concrete ways in which loneliness can be mastered and overcome. For example, sharing one's house with another person, having a pet, doing volunteer work, travelling, taking up a hobby, etc. In short, we need to reach out to life and not wait for it to come to us.