Find Your People: Building Deep Community in a Lonely World by Jennie Allen

Find Your People: Building Deep Community in a Lonely World by Jennie Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - I was immediately drawn in by the title, my biggest concern about moving to a new state when I retired 3 years ago was leaving my community. Building a new one has been the single biggest challenge, exacerbated by the societal disruption of COVID. The author talks about the three layers of people we have - acquaintances, people you may know through social groups, social media or even work; a smaller, closer group she calls your village, and within that your 2-5 best friends, who you can be completely honest with, and share even uncomfortable things. So many things rang true to me, such as how difficult it is to open up and be vulnerable, I am more a listener than a sharer, people rarely know when I am hurting. Also, how we aren't look for our friends (or spouse) to solve our problems, but to help us come up with a solution ourselves, by asking questions or sharing resources. She suggests ways to develop this community by identifying people in different areas of your life, neighborhood, church, work, children's activities, who you would like to get to know better, and then taking that small step (inviting them out for coffee, running errands together, etc. Lots of practical suggestions as many of us try to find a new normal in this post-COVID world.

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