Hope for the Lonely with Charlotte Donlon
36 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 23 ratingsWe are more connected now than ever before, but most of us still struggle with feelings of loneliness and isolation. Hope for the Lonely host Charlotte Donlon believes loneliness loses some of its power when we bring it into the light, so she writes and talks about different angles of loneliness and belonging and how they intersect with the Christian faith. The more curious she's become about her loneliness, the less severe it seems. So, she welcomes you to inhabit a posture of curiosity as she explores various aspects of loneliness and belonging in the Hope for the Lonely podcast. Charlotte Donlon is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder and host of the Our Faith in Writing podcast and website. She also hosts A Writer's Diary, a daily podcast about writing and the writing life. Charlotte’s writing and work are rooted in noticing how art helps us belong to ourselves, others, God, and the world. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. You can subscribe to her newsletter at charlottedonlon.substack.com and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram at @charlottedonlon. You can learn more about Charlotte and her writing and work at charlottedonlon.com
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Episodes
Episode 36: An Audio Essay: How Observing Advent and Following the Church Year Make Me Feel Less Alone
November 24, 2021 13:00 - 12 minutes - 5.95 MBIn this episode, Charlotte reads an essay she wrote about how the church years helps her feel less alone. As we engage more deeply with the ancient streams of art and faith, how they inform one another, and how all of this can create profound new possibilities for belonging, we need ways to respond. Through her work as a spiritual director for writers, artists, and those all along the belief-and-unbelief spectrum, Charlotte Donlon explores how belonging intersects with the contemplative li...
Episode 35: Behind the Scenes with The Great Belonging: Chapter Seven
October 22, 2021 16:00 - 7 minutes - 5 MBWriter and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon goes behind the scenes and provides additional information about each chapter of her first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She also shares details about her writing process, lessons learned from writing her first book, and other insights. The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other explores various angles of loneliness and belonging. The book’s sections include Belonging to Ourselves, Belongin...
Episode 34: Behind the Scenes with The Great Belonging: Chapter Six
October 08, 2021 22:00 - 5 minutes - 3.9 MBWriter and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon goes behind the scenes and provides additional information about each chapter of her first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She also shares details about her writing process, lessons learned from writing her first book, and other insights. The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other explores various angles of loneliness and belonging. The book’s sections include Belonging to Ourselves, Belonging to...
Episode 33: Behind the Scenes with The Great Belonging: Chapter Five
October 02, 2021 17:00 - 8 minutes - 5.63 MBWriter and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon goes behind the scenes and provides additional information about each chapter of her first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She also shares details about her writing process, lessons learned from writing her first book, and other insights. The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other explores various angles of loneliness and belonging. The book’s sections include Belonging to Ourselves, Belonging to...
Episode 32: Behind the Scenes with The Great Belonging: Chapter Four
October 01, 2021 17:00 - 4 minutes - 2.99 MBWriter and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon goes behind the scenes and provides additional information about each chapter of her first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She also shares details about her writing process, lessons learned from writing her first book, and other insights. The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other explores various angles of loneliness and belonging. The book’s sections include Belonging to Ourselves, Belonging to...
Episode 31: Behind the Scenes with The Great Belonging: Chapter Three
September 30, 2021 17:00 - 8 minutes - 5.89 MBWriter and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon goes behind the scenes and provides additional information about each chapter of her first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She also shares details about her writing process, lessons learned from writing her first book, and other insights. The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other explores various angles of loneliness and belonging. The book’s sections include Belonging to Ourselves, Belonging to...
Episode 30: Behind the Scenes with The Great Belonging: Chapter Two
September 29, 2021 22:30 - 6 minutes - 4.5 MBWriter and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon goes behind the scenes and provides additional information about each chapter of her first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She also shares details about her writing process, lessons learned from writing her first book, and other insights. The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other explores various angles of loneliness and belonging. The book’s sections include Belonging to Ourselves, Belonging to...
Episode 29: Behind the Scenes with The Great Belonging: Chapter One
September 29, 2021 22:15 - 8 minutes - 6.01 MBWriter and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon goes behind the scenes and provides additional information about each chapter of her first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She also shares details about her writing process, lessons learned from writing her first book, and other insights. The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other explores various angles of loneliness and belonging. The book’s sections include Belonging to Ourselves, Belonging to...
Episode 28: Behind the Scenes with The Great Belonging: Foreword and Introduction
September 29, 2021 22:00 - 8 minutes - 5.58 MBWriter and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon goes behind the scenes and provides additional information about each chapter of her first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She also shares details about her writing process, lessons learned from writing her first book, and other insights. The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other explores various angles of loneliness and belonging. The book’s sections include Belonging to Ourselves, Belonging to...
Episode 27: Hope for the Lonely Unplugged: Holiday Loneliness in a Pandemic
December 04, 2020 19:00 - 35 minutes - 16.4 MBThis is Hope for the Lonely Unplugged Episode 27: Holiday Loneliness in a Pandemic. We’re in the middle of a pandemic. People are tired and depleted. It’s easier right now for me to release new episodes without involving a producer, so I’m going to try it. We’ll see how this goes. In this episode I talk about holiday loneliness during the pandemic. I also talk about a sermon a friend preached about suicide, so this is a content warning for those who need it. I also provide a quick update...
Episode 26: Loneliness and the Way of Jesus with Marlena Graves
July 14, 2020 15:45 - 1 hour - 41.7 MBIn this episode of Hope for the Lonely, Charlotte Donlon talks to Marlena Graves about her new book, The Way Up is Down: Becoming Yourself by Forgetting Yourself and the loneliness Christians may experience when they follow Jesus.From InterVarsity Press"Now, with God's help, I shall become myself."These words from Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard resonate deeply with Marlena Graves, a Puerto Rican writer, professor, and activist. In these pages she describes the process of emptying herse...
Episode 25: Loneliness and Meeting God with Jason Gaboury
April 20, 2020 17:30 - 1 hour - 46.4 MBIn this episode, Charlotte talks to Jason Gaboury about his new book, Wait with Me: Meeting God in Loneliness.Jason Gaboury is a regional ministry director with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He's also an Anglican friar (Anglican Order of Preachers). He has contributed to a number of books, including Drama Team Handbook. He and his wife, Sophia, live in New York City with their two children. Wait with Me: Meeting God in Lonelinesshttps://www.ivpress.com/wait-with-meFrom IVP:"To be human ...
Episode 24: An Update and an Excerpt from the Foreword for Charlotte’s Book
April 20, 2020 17:00 - 8 minutes - 6 MBIn this episode, I provide a quick update about the Hope for the Lonely podcast, my new podcast (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/lists-of-nine-podcast), my writing, my new weekly newsletter format (https://charlottedonlon.substack.com/), and more. I also read a short excerpt from the foreword for The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/the-great-belonging-book), my book that will be published by Broadleaf Books on November 10, 2020, and tha...
Episode 23: Loneliness and Our Stories with Robyn Kown
February 27, 2020 16:00 - 41 minutes - 28.8 MBIn this episode of Hope for the Lonely, Charlotte Donlon talks to Robyn Kown about loneliness and our stories. Robyn is the founder and Executive Director for StoryTellers Live Ministry which includes StoryTellers Live Podcast as well as local community gatherings in 8 cities around the Southeast. Robyn says, "In the Fall of 2016, some friends and I got together weekly for a small group. Each week one of us shared our story. These were friends, some of them I had known for several years, and...
Episode 22: Loneliness and Ministry with Michelle Reyes, Ph.D.
February 17, 2020 16:45 - 49 minutes - 33.7 MBIn this episode, Hope for the Lonely host Charlotte Donlon talks to Michelle Reyes, Ph.D. about loneliness and ministry.Michelle Reyes, Ph.D., is an Indian American pastor's wife, writer, and activist. She is also the editor of The Art of Taleh, a diverse Christian collective, and is passionate about faith, culture, and solidarity. She has written for Christianity Today Women, ERLC, Faithfully Magazine, and (in)courage, and has a forthcoming book with Zondervan on cross-cultural relationship...
Episode 21: Loneliness and Hope with Zac Hicks
December 24, 2019 16:00 - 1 hour - 46.7 MBCharlotte Donlon talks to Zac Hicks about loneliness, belonging, and hope. Zac Hicks is Canon for Liturgy and Worship at Cathedral Church of the Advent (Birmingham, AL) and author of The Worship Pastor (Zondervan, 2016). He has been married to Abby for almost twenty years, and has four kids—Joel, Jesse, Brody, and Bronwyn.More about Zac Hicks:http://www.zachicks.com/More about Zac's book:https://www.zondervan.com/9780310525196/the-worship-pastor/The song "Light After Darkness" mentioned in t...
Episode 20: Loneliness and Suffering with K.J. Ramsey
December 17, 2019 15:00 - 49 minutes - 33.8 MBCharlotte talks to K.J. Ramsey about loneliness and suffering.K.J. Ramsey is a therapist, writer, and recovering idealist who believes sorrow and joy coexist. Her first book, This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers, releases with Zondervan in May 2020 and is available for preorder. You can follow K.J.'s writing at kjramsey.com.Show NotesK.J. offers much insight, wisdom, and grace in this conversation about loneliness and suffering. She believes in noticing the grace we enco...
Episode 19: Loneliness and Grief with Gordon Bals
December 10, 2019 14:00 - 47 minutes - 32.9 MBCharlotte talks to Gordon Bals about loneliness and grief.Gordon currently directs Daymark Pastoral Counseling in Birmingham, AL which he founded in 1997. He counsels in a variety of areas but especially focuses on issues related to marriage and family, grief and loss or religious and spiritual issues. He is an adjunct faculty member at Beeson Divinity School and author of Common Ground: Discovering God’s Redemption in Your Marriage. Prior to founding Daymark Pastoral Counseling, Gordon work...
Episode 18: Loneliness and Hospitality with Leslie Verner
December 03, 2019 17:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBCharlotte talks to Leslie Verner about loneliness and hospitality.Leslie Verner has her masters in intercultural studies and bachelors in elementary education, both from Wheaton College. She has taught in both public and private schools, for students ranging from fourth to eighth grade, though most of her teaching career has been for seventh and eighth graders. She lived in China for five years, teaching English as a second language for three years and studying Mandarin full-time for two yea...
Episode 17: Loneliness and the Holidays with Aundi Kolber
November 26, 2019 04:00 - 50 minutes - 34.7 MBCharlotte talks to Aundi Kolber about loneliness and the holidays.Aundi Kolber is a licensed professional counselor (MA, LPC), an author, and a speaker living in Castle Rock, Colorado. She has received additional training in her specialization of trauma- and body-centered therapies and is passionate about the integration of faith and psychology. She has written for Relevant, CT Women, and (in)courage. As a survivor of trauma, Aundi brings hard-won knowledge about the work of change, the powe...
Episode 16: What's Next on Hope for the Lonely
November 21, 2019 00:00 - 7 minutes - 5.35 MBThe Hope for the Lonely podcast is back! I recently finished the manuscript for my forthcoming book: The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us To Each Other. It will be published by Fortress Press. Look for it in the Fall of 2020. In between now and then look for over a dozen interviews about loneliness, connectedness and the spaces in between. Here's to facing loneliness together...Charlotte Donlon is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder and host of the Our Faith i...
Episode 15: Loneliness and Artists
April 30, 2019 15:00 - 13 minutes - 9.28 MBCharlotte explores connections between loneliness and art and the act of creating. She shares input from others on the topic, as well. Show NotesIf You Want to Be an Artist Understand Loneliness (https://fineartviews.com/blog/106399/if-you-want-to-be-an-artist-understand-loneliness)Charlotte Donlon is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder and host of the Our Faith in Writing podcast and website (https://www.ourfaithinwriting.com/). Charlotte’s writing and work are roote...
Episode 14: Loneliness and Busyness
April 22, 2019 14:00 - 18 minutes - 12.9 MBCharlotte explores connections between loneliness and busyness, focusing primarily on young adults who are some of the loneliest people in the United States.Show NotesCigna Study on Loneliness (https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8294451-cigna-us-loneliness-survey/docs/IndexReport_1524069371598-173525450.pdf)Young Americans Are The Lonelinest American Adults, According To A New Study (https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/stevens/ct-life-stevens-thursday-americans-are-lonely-0503-sto...
Episode 13: Loneliness and Marriage
April 09, 2019 14:45 - 16 minutes - 11.6 MBCharlotte explores loneliness and marriage primarily through sharing several vulnerable responses about loneliness and marriage from the anonymous online survey for this episode. She also gives a shoutout to how great therapy is for people who need someone to talk to about their loneliness.Show Notes:For more from Hope for the Lonely, visit charlottedonlon.com (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/) and click on "Hope for the Lonely (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/hope-for-the-lonely/)."Many tha...
Episode 12: The Complexities of Loneliness
April 02, 2019 05:00 - 13 minutes - 9.12 MBCharlotte explores the complexities of loneliness and some of God's promises we can hold onto in the midst of hoping for a different future.Are We Destined to Be Lonely?https://www.damemagazine.com/2019/02/07/are-we-destined-to-be-lonely/Sermon by Zac Hickshttps://adventbirmingham.org/audio/christians-judge-one-another/Charlotte Donlon is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder and host of the Our Faith in Writing podcast and website (https://www.ourfaithinwriting.com/). ...
Episode 11: A Heap of Hope
March 26, 2019 05:00 - 13 minutes - 9.6 MBCharlotte uses a whole episode to offer hope to those who are struggling with loneliness.Show Notes:Sunday School Lesson on 2 Corinthians Taught by Dr. Mark Gignilliathttps://adventbirmingham.org/audio/2-corinthians-pauls-advent-letter-2/2 Corinthians 4-5:7https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+4-5%3A7&version=NRSV For more from Hope for the Lonely, visit charlottedonlon.com (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/) and click on "Hope for the Lonely (https://www.charlottedonlon....
Episode 10: Loneliness and Singleness
March 19, 2019 13:00 - 14 minutes - 10.3 MBCharlotte shares anonymous responses about loneliness and singleness to help listeners better understand how single people experience loneliness.Show Notes:Party of One by Joy Beth Smithhttps://www.amazon.com/Party-One-Longing-Subtle-Singleness/dp/0718094050/ref=sr11?crid=2ZLRV837XMMPN&keywords=party+of+one&qid=1552863696&s=books&sprefix=party+of+one%2Caps%2C161&sr=1-1For more from Hope for the Lonely, visit charlottedonlon.com (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/) and click on "Hope for the Lo...
Episode 9: Exploring Different Types of Loneliness
March 14, 2019 13:00 - 13 minutes - 9.14 MBCharlotte explores different types of loneliness and specific examples of the loneliness people experience. Show NotesLoneliness: Clinical Import and Interventionshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4391342/Dr. Gordon Balshttps://daymarkcounseling.com/about/gordon-balsAll the Lonely Peoplehttps://www.mbird.com/2018/10/all-the-lonely-people/For more from Hope for the Lonely, visit charlottedonlon.com (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/) and click on "Hope for the Lonely (https://www.ch...
Episode 8: When Christians Struggle with Loneliness
March 05, 2019 12:15 - 14 minutes - 9.82 MBCharlotte shares responses from Christians who struggle with loneliness from this episode's anonymous survey. She talks about how she believes loneliness is a topic Christians need to be discussing and how stories are a balm for loneliness.Show NotesHere's a list of verses the survey responders shared that inform their views of loneliness:Psalm 23:!8Psalm 34:18Psalm 38:9Psalm 84:11Isaiah 30:18Isaiah 42Isaiah 44:1-5Isaiah 54:1-5Isaiah 56:3-8Isaiah 62:4Isaiah 64:4Matthew 28:20b1 Samuel 12:22Fo...
Episode 7: Loneliness in the News
February 26, 2019 10:00 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MBCharlotte shares some of her favorite recent loneliness news.Show NotesNew Smiley Cards Help with Isolation in Dining Hallhttps://theappalachianonline.com/2019/02/22/new-smiley-cards-help-with-isolation-and-loneliness-in-dining-hall/Aging for Amateurs: Friends Keep Us Alivehttps://www.postandcourier.com/columnists/aging-for-amateurs-friends-keep-us-alive/article_2553ab5a-2fa3-11e9-b67c-7779f9c8cf28.htmlDaycare Inside a Nursing Home? Yes, and it's a big hit in Seattlehttps://www.newschannel5....
Episode 6: Encouragement for Our Soul Stories of Loneliness
February 20, 2019 00:00 - 12 minutes - 8.88 MBShow NotesCharlotte offers encouragement to the person highlighted in Episode 5 and to others who struggle with loneliness. She also explores why it helps us to know that others have struggles that are similar to our own struggles and why vulnerability is a good thing."Wild Geese" by Mary Oliverhttps://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/wild-geeseFor more from Hope for the Lonely, visit charlottedonlon.com (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/) and click on "Hope for the Lonely (https://www.charlottedo...
Episode 5: Loneliness and the Stories of Our Souls
February 15, 2019 00:00 - 9 minutes - 6.6 MBCharlotte shares a soul story of loneliness from someone who responded to the anonymous survey for this episode. She asks listeners for help in providing hope and encouragement to this person.Show Notes:For more from Hope for the Lonely, visit charlottedonlon.com (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/) and click on "Hope for the Lonely (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/hope-for-the-lonely/)."Charlotte Donlon is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder and host of the Our Faith i...
Episode 4: The Loneliness of Motherhood
February 12, 2019 06:00 - 10 minutes - 7.53 MBIn this episode, Charlotte explores stories of loneliness that she has known during her 16+ years of motherhood. She also shares comments from the anonymous survey for this episode from other mothers about the loneliness they have experienced. Charlotte gives listeners a question to ask that might help them be in their loneliness with a bit more ease.Show Notes:For more from Hope for the Lonely, visit charlottedonlon.com (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/) and click on "Hope for the Lonely (h...
Episode 3: Faith, Doubt, and Loneliness
February 05, 2019 13:00 - 13 minutes - 9.37 MBCharlotte discusses faith and loneliness and how our doubt intersects with our faith and loneliness. She also shares several vulnerable responses about faith and loneliness from the anonymous online survey for this episode.Show Notes:Loneliness peaks at three key ages, study finds — but wisdom may helphttps://fox2now.com/2018/12/19/loneliness-peaks-at-three-key-ages-study-finds-but-wisdom-may-help/Frederick Buechner 2006 Interviewhttps://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2006/05/05/may-5-20...
Episode 2: Starting The Conversation
January 29, 2019 06:00 - 11 minutes - 7.85 MBCharlotte gets the conversation on loneliness started in this episode. When we acknowledge loneliness, when we admit that we sometimes struggle with it, when we speak about it with others, the hold it has on us seems to release a bit.Show Notes:For more from Hope for the Lonely, visit charlottedonlon.com (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/) and click on "Hope for the Lonely (https://www.charlottedonlon.com/hope-for-the-lonely/)."Charlotte Donlon is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, a...
Episode 1: Hope For The Lonely...A Preview
January 25, 2019 19:00 - 3 minutes - 2.09 MBMost people struggle with loneliness at various times throughout their lives. Some people struggle with loneliness every day. Many keep their loneliness a secret. But I’ve discovered the more curious I’ve become about my loneliness, the more I’ve read about it and written about it, the less severe it seems. So, I welcome you into a posture of curiosity.Show Notes:Nearly Half of Americans Report Feeling Alonehttps://www.marketwatch.com/story/america-has-a-big-loneliness-problem-2018-05-02For ...