Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for The New Loneliness by Cindi McMenamin hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: The New Loneliness
Author: Cindi McMenamin
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Release Date: January 7, 2025
Genre: Christian Personal Growth
You Can Overcome Your Feelings of Aloneness
In our age of increased social isolation and growing reliance on technology, genuine connection can feel more difficult than ever. But what if community and closeness are nearer than you thought?
The New Loneliness is about experiencing the authentic relationships God created you for by identifying and overcoming today’s biggest relational obstacles. Cindi McMenamin explores how our current cultural environment and dependence on electronic devices have hindered our ability to connect, and she offers uplifting guidance, biblical insights, and encouraging action steps to help you
Are you feeling lonelier these days than you used to? Experiencing that unexplainable ache you can’t seem to get rid of? Perhaps you’re spending more time with your phone than with people and you don’t want to think about how that might’ve happened. Maybe you used to feel closer to God and some of your friends and family than you do today, and you don’t know how to reverse that. You could be feeling on the outside of popular opinion or wondering if you have a place or voice in today’s culture or even in your own family. Or, perhaps you wish you had a church or were more connected at the one you attend.
You’re not the only one feeling lonelier than ever. Loneliness has always been a struggle for many of us and continues to be. But in recent decades, the causes of loneliness have multiplied. A lot has shifted in the world around us, and there is a new loneliness afloat, making the problem more pervasive than ever. In addition to living in an increasingly high-tech and screen-focused society, we’ve been impacted by the forced isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns that persisted for nearly two years all around us. The lock- downs pushed our culture’s reliance on tech and screens even more. Video conferencing alone has forever changed the way many of us operate — at work, in schools, at church, and in our homes.
While the pandemic is now behind us, our increased reliance upon AI, high tech, and screens isn’t. And the habits formulated over an extended time of isolation and caution have led us into a new and different normal. Without necessarily intending to do so, we’ve all become more acclimated to new habits and new ways of going about life. We’ve adapted, but the results of our new normal have had a profound impact on us and aren’t all positive.
Both technology and the consequences of the pandemic have taken us to a place where the traditional kinds of loneliness we’ve struggled with — loneliness caused by anxiety, shame, suffering, feelings of inadequacy, betrayal, and more — have become increasingly pronounced. The kinds of loneliness that have always plagued humanity since the Garden of Eden are still with us. But now we have new obstacles and complications that have contributed to isolating us from others. And these have made loneliness more a part of our lives. In mid-2023, the US Surgeon General issued a health alert that confirmed there is an “epidemic of loneliness” — a health risk of iso- lation (which includes spending more time with screens than people), and a failure to connect deeply with others through friendships and risk of intimacy — that is now increasing your chance of dementia by 50 percent and your chance of premature death by more than 60 percent. It is actually unhealthy to be lonely today — mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and now physically, regardless of your age. According to the Surgeon General, the long-term health risks of loneliness are equivalent to the danger of smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day! As I mentioned earlier, people have always suffered from loneliness. We have all felt it now and then. But now it’s more persistent. And these more intense feelings of loneliness didn’t happen overnight.
Excerpted from: The New Loneliness. Copyright © 2024 Cindi McMenamin. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon 97408. www.harvesthousepublishers.com
- release feelings of inadequacy and shame by realigning with how the Lord sees you and understanding His purpose for you
- take confident steps toward nourishing healthy, in-person relationships by learning to slow down and operate from a secure attachment to God
- thrive within new friendships and community with practical guidance for making life more meaningful and preferring faces over screens
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook | Bookshop
Excerpt
Are you feeling lonelier these days than you used to? Experiencing that unexplainable ache you can’t seem to get rid of? Perhaps you’re spending more time with your phone than with people and you don’t want to think about how that might’ve happened. Maybe you used to feel closer to God and some of your friends and family than you do today, and you don’t know how to reverse that. You could be feeling on the outside of popular opinion or wondering if you have a place or voice in today’s culture or even in your own family. Or, perhaps you wish you had a church or were more connected at the one you attend.
You’re not the only one feeling lonelier than ever. Loneliness has always been a struggle for many of us and continues to be. But in recent decades, the causes of loneliness have multiplied. A lot has shifted in the world around us, and there is a new loneliness afloat, making the problem more pervasive than ever. In addition to living in an increasingly high-tech and screen-focused society, we’ve been impacted by the forced isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns that persisted for nearly two years all around us. The lock- downs pushed our culture’s reliance on tech and screens even more. Video conferencing alone has forever changed the way many of us operate — at work, in schools, at church, and in our homes.
While the pandemic is now behind us, our increased reliance upon AI, high tech, and screens isn’t. And the habits formulated over an extended time of isolation and caution have led us into a new and different normal. Without necessarily intending to do so, we’ve all become more acclimated to new habits and new ways of going about life. We’ve adapted, but the results of our new normal have had a profound impact on us and aren’t all positive.
Both technology and the consequences of the pandemic have taken us to a place where the traditional kinds of loneliness we’ve struggled with — loneliness caused by anxiety, shame, suffering, feelings of inadequacy, betrayal, and more — have become increasingly pronounced. The kinds of loneliness that have always plagued humanity since the Garden of Eden are still with us. But now we have new obstacles and complications that have contributed to isolating us from others. And these have made loneliness more a part of our lives. In mid-2023, the US Surgeon General issued a health alert that confirmed there is an “epidemic of loneliness” — a health risk of iso- lation (which includes spending more time with screens than people), and a failure to connect deeply with others through friendships and risk of intimacy — that is now increasing your chance of dementia by 50 percent and your chance of premature death by more than 60 percent. It is actually unhealthy to be lonely today — mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and now physically, regardless of your age. According to the Surgeon General, the long-term health risks of loneliness are equivalent to the danger of smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day! As I mentioned earlier, people have always suffered from loneliness. We have all felt it now and then. But now it’s more persistent. And these more intense feelings of loneliness didn’t happen overnight.
Excerpted from: The New Loneliness. Copyright © 2024 Cindi McMenamin. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon 97408. www.harvesthousepublishers.com
About the Author
Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a copy of The New Loneliness, Beholding and Becoming by Ruth Chou Simons, Well Lived by Sally Clarkson, and a $50 Amazon gift card!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight January 8, 2025 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on January 15, 2025. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
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