about the book
The Opposite of Loneliness is a collection of nine short stories and nine essays which takes its title from Marina Keegan's last essay to appear in the Yale Daily News, which went viral in the days after her death and was read by 1.4 million people in 98 countries. Marina Keegan's writing captured the hope, possibility, confusion, and passion of her generation.
Although she died at 22, Marina’s words live on in her stories and essays in The Opposite of Loneliness that beautifully articulates the common human struggle for direction, a sense of belonging and fulfillment. Hundreds of thousands of readers across the world continue to be inspired by her writing and resonate deeply with Marina’s message of hope and possibility.
A New York Times Bestseller, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Nonfiction 2014, Popsugar Best Books 2014, Mashable 21 Page-Turning Books of 2014, The Express Tribune Best of 2014: Books, Buzzfeed 19 Best Nonfiction Books of 2014.
Further coverage has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Publishers Weekly, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, The Katie Couric Show, O, People, The Economist and the Financial Times.
Marina's supporters include Anne Fadiman, Harold Bloom, Nicholas Kristof, J. R. Moehringer, Emma Watson, Meghan Markle, and Broadway Tony award winner, Shaina Taub, just to name a few.
“So often while reading your stories , I marvel and think, these are feelings I’ve had, how did she make me feel them again, how did she know?… It is impossible to overstate the loss of your voice.” ”
Selected Reviews
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Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
"A triumph … Keegan was right to prod us all to reflect on what we seek from life, to ask these questions, to recognize the importance of passions as well as pay checks –– even if there are no easy answers."
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The Oprah Magazine
“Her words soar … The Opposite of Loneliness is a posthumous collection of her fiction and nonfiction pieces, and it sparkles with talent, humanity, and youth. The prose, polished but thoroughly unselfconscious, is heartbreaking evidence of what could have been."
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The New Yorker
“The writing Marina Keegan leaves behind offers a tantalizing taste of a literary voice still in development yet already imbued with unusual insight, nuance, humor, and sensitivity.”
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The Boston Globe
“What a gift Keegan has left behind. Not only in her written words... but also in her legacy of social activism and fierce belief in leading a life of purpose, not privilege.”
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J.R. Moehringer, Pulitzer Prize winner
“In her brief life Marina Keegan managed to achieve a precocious literary mastery. Her wry, wise, lyrical voice is unforgettable, and her vital, exuberant spirit reminds us powerfully to seize the day. Though every sentence throbs with what might have been, this remarkable collection is ultimately joyful and inspiring, because it represents the wonder that she was.”
Read the title essay.
The title essay of Marina’s book, “The Opposite of Loneliness,” was her final message to her college classmates, distributed in a special edition of the Yale Daily News at the 2012 Commencement exercises.
