I’m not usually a big fan of essays, but I do go there on occasion. When I saw the blurb on this collection, I knew I really had to read it. Jennifer Haupt has done an outstanding job gathering essays and poems from about 90 different authors. Most all of the contributions have the prevailing themes of feeling alone and struggling to move forward in times of crisis and grief.

For me, the essays, none more than a few pages long, vary in quality. I think the majority are very good and are successful in invoking feelings and poignancy. None however made me cry. I am disappointed that I could not connect with most of the poetry. I blame my “science mind,” and somehow feel I cheated myself in regard to these writings.

Many of the pieces were written during the COVID crisis, mostly during May 2020, from what I can tell. This being October 2020, I am amazed to see how fast the compilation was pulled together, especially with so many authors involved. I love the little author biographies at the end of each piece. I took time to look up most of them on Goodreads or Wikipedia and by doing so ended up adding quite a few books to my TBR list (a good thing IMHO).

It is so wonderful to see how many themes are touched upon. These include losing family members to COVID and other diseases during the time of COVID, communication with those who have passed, final bonding with a parent, sibling estrangement, rejection, jealousy, separated lovers, the yearning for physical touch, the gift of lavender, helping others however one can, the power of music, the miracle of the song of canaries, special bonding with animals, and of course, love, just to name a few.

Overall, I really enjoyed Alone Together and highly recommend this anthology to all who are experiencing sadness and those interested in how others are coping during this tragic pandemic. Of special note, all net profits from the sale of the book will go to The Book Industry Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit organization that coordinates charitable programs to strengthen the bookselling community.

•Character development- 4☆
• Story Plot- 3☆
• Flow of the story- 4☆
• Overall - 3.5☆

Maybe it didn't connect with me because covid has been around a lot longer by now....
Some of the stories I did think where good, but a lot of times I was just hoping the people where alright so many months of covid later.
I think it also wasn't the right time for me to listen to this because I'm a bit "tired"of everything covid related.

I think I would have liked it more if it had been a bit shorter, I did like the usage of different narrators although I liked some more then others.

Thank you Netgalley for my gifted copy. It was interesting to hear other people's stories and how they are dealing with life during this pandemic.

Alone Together was sent to me by Net Galley, free of charge, in exchange for my honest review.
I chose to review Alone Together, published by Podium Audio, as an audiobook. There were multiple narrators because this book is about how COVID has canceled the arts. It’s trying to get people to recognize and support the Arts. The subtitle is LOVE, GRIEF, AND COMFORT DURING THE TIME OF COVID-19.
There were many good poems and essays about these authors’ COVID experiences to aid other authors. Many of these authors have had their book launches postponed and even canceled because of the spread of COVID. We REALLY need to support these authors. They need to make a living, too. Many people forget about them.
I recommend this audiobook.

I loved this book. I started listening to this last month and took my time to finish it. It was a very brilliantly written book and I fell in love with the narration and the story.
Highly recommended.

A collections of interviews, essays, and poems describing the experiences and emotion of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global quarantines. A truly human, and personal look at how people are coping with these "unprecedented times." This book will be used to teach future generations about life in the year 2020.

Everyone is having a hard time with Covid. Fortunately, if you like to read, it makes things a bit easier. I got this on Audio, so a different author or writer talks about an experience they’ve had during Covid.

Some of the stories were great and I really felt for what some people are going through. I especially related to having family away from your area and trying to keep in touch or repair relationships. Those were the best. The stories were a bit inconsistent, some were better then others.

Overall, a nice audio listen to remind us we are going through Covid together and will eventually get through it. Glad that the vaccine has become available, but in the meantime most of us are going to be waiting several more months.

Thank You NetGalley, Jennifer Haupt, and Podium Audio for giving me a copy of this audio book.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of this book.

We are all surviving during this period of time known as a pandemic. This will for sure be affecting our way of life currently, but it also have already left it’s mark on the future. This series of shorts is really quite interesting and heart warming. That being said it was also heart breaking at points.

This collection is non-fiction so it addresses what people have actually gone through in the first few months of this quarantine. This is an important time in our history and due to that it has really made an impact on our world. This book is a great way of showing how several people from different worlds and generations are dealing with the pandemic and how lives are being adjusted due to this lifestyle change most of us have had to make.

Overall, I think that this is a very important read that should be read by everyone, especially in the United States. It’s important to see how everyone is being affected by this and there are some that even talk about those who are suffering due to COVID-19. Just because we might not see it up front doesn’t mean that it is all gone. It’s still here. 4.5 out of 5 from me

I will honestly say that I did not finish reading this title because I was having anxiety listening to stories about the pandemic while in the pandemic, but with that being said I think they did a great job with exposing different people's truths during this very trying time and the stories I did read (over 50%) were well written. I'd like to revisit this at a later time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Podium Audio for the ALC of this essay collection.

Overall I did enjoy Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the time of Covid-19. I really enjoyed hearing so many different viewpoints and situations of the early stages of the pandemic.

I did feel it was a bit lengthy. Having different narrators helped make it feel a bit more manageable, but it still felt very long. That very well maybe because we are still in the midst of this pandemic and its a lot to digest while we're still living it.

I do think this is an important collection of voices and stories to be in existence. Especially for the future when people look back on this time period. Having first-hand experiences documented will be so important when we look back on this tumultuous time in our history I’m glad that Jennifer Haupt has put these stories together.

Title: Alone Together - Love, Grief, and Comfort During the Time of COVID-19
Editor: Jennifer Haupt

Alone Together is like a time capsule of 2020 and the living through the pandemic of Covid-19. It features essays, poems, and stories. While the narration was fine, I think I would of preferred the book. I plan to purchase it since the proceeds will be going to charity.

Thank you NetGalley for honoring my request to listen to the audio version of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for access to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Some of the stories in this book were better than others. I think they were overall pretty relatable since they all were discussing life in the current pandemic we are all facing. I think it may be a better book for in a few years as right now I find the topic only adds more stress to my life and maybe it will be better to reflect back once life returns to a little more of a normal cadence (whenever that happens).

It was such a powerful book that was still hard to listen to especially when we are still going through the pandemic. Some stories were full of hope and helped me realize the many other perspectives of how hard or easy the rest of the world is handling the pandemic. Some other stories made me really nostalgic that actually hurt listening to. It’s really special to read a book to go away from real life and travel to imaginary worlds, but it’s more important to see different points of view from the world you are actually living in. I love the different narrators and how the book is divided in different steps or areas we have during covid. Also I love the different types of writing: poems, memoirs, short stories, etc.

Like all anthologies, this one has entries that vary in style, length, and quality. Some of these poems and essays moved me to tears, others were just nice. I did notice a preponderance of authors from Seattle, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The book starts with a foreword by Garth Stein and an introduction by Jennifer Haupt, it is then separated into five sections: 1- What Now? 2- Grieve 3- Comfort 4- Connect and 5- And Do Not Stop.

Stories and poems and essays about what each individual author is feeling as they quarantine, some are sick and some are just following the stay at home orders. Some are with family members, some are alone, but all are eloquent in their expression. Politics inevitably makes its way into a few of the entries as reaction to the government's response to the virus is a huge part of the emotional toll COVID-19 takes.

Overall, this was a comforting read to me. I'm not eloquent in writing and it was refreshing to my soul to hear many of my feelings put into words. I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for solace right now in our crazy world.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this audio book from the publisher through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It's interesting to listen about how everyone has a different feel and how they dealt with COVID. Truly, it's sad but even through a book, it makes it feel even more real and sometimes unreal depending how you try to deal with it mentally.

The essays that comprised this book were absolutely amazing. They all felt so raw and real. I related to almost all of them.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Central Ave Publishing for the audio ARC of Alone Together in exchange for an honest review.

We all began 2020 in the usually ways, celebrating the new year, setting our goals, hopes and dreams for the coming year. All of this was cut short due to the introduction and wildfire spread of Covid-19.

Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in The Time of Covid-19 Edited by Jennifer Haupt is anthology that shares the experiences and emotions felt by a diverse group of writers. Each focuses on the authors experiences during the lock down months from March to May of 2020. We learn of loss, compassion, adaptation, illness, grief, changes, and traditions. These pieces remind us we are not alone in this en devour. Many of the pieces address supporting one another. They were inspiring us to move forward in these unprecedented times. All proceeds from this anthology are being used to support Independent Book Shops. I highly recommend this read.

Not my usual style, but I like the idea of everyone looking for answers in the same situation and finding different but successful answers.

This diverse collection is just what is needed to process through a variety of experiences of those navigating COVID-19. An opportunity to cultivate empathy and connection within the classroom in the context of a historical event. Glad to have read this book and appreciated the full cast via the audio version.

In a time where I appreciate hearing other's experiences to make me more aware of just my own feelings and thoughts I really enjoyed this listen. To hear it come from others voices instead of just print helped to really get a sense of feelings being shared. Nice addition to the library.