• General Recommendations
  • Staff-Created List

Books on Building Community & Fostering Friendship

We're living through an epidemic of loneliness. The solution? Building community and fostering friendship. “Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health. Our relationships are a source of healing and well-being hiding in plain sight – one that can help us live healthier, more fulfilled, and more productive lives,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. “Given the significant health consequences of loneliness and isolation, we must prioritize building social connection the same way we have prioritized other critical public health issues such as tobacco, obesity, and substance use disorders. Together, we can build a country that’s healthier, more resilient, less lonely, and more connected.”

Johnson County Library

15 items

  • How We Show Up

    Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community

    Birdsong, Mia,
    A manual for how to reject what the author calls "toxic individualism" and build a community of found family rooted in social justice from a lifelong activist.
    BookNew York, NY : Hachette Go, 2020. — 307 Birdsong 07/2020
  • Mutual Aid

    Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)

    Spade, Dean, 1977-
    We are all we have, but we are all we need. This simple, practical guide explains how to build decision-making frameworks in order to work together for social change while also meeting the basic needs of ourselves and our neighbors.
    BookLondon ; Brooklyn, New York : Verso, [2020] — 303.372 Spade 12/2020
  • Democracy in Retrograde

    How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives

    Sage, Sami,
    Does the state of political discourse and the divisive internet echo chamber get you down? This is a guide for how to embrace that all politics is local and build constructive dialogue by getting back to the idea of a public square.
    BookNew York : Gallery Books, 2024. — 323.042 Sage 07/2024
  • The Art of Gathering

    How We Meet and Why It Matters

    Parker, Priya
    A practical guide to building community through intentionally creating space, whether the occasion is a dinner party, global conferences, or playdate.
    BookNew York : Riverhead Books, 2018. — 302.1 Parker 05/2018
  • Find Your People

    Building Deep Community in a Lonely World

    Allen, Jennie
    Jennie Allen, who has a master's in biblical studies, shares her wisdom for building community by being vulnerable enough to build real connections.
    BookColorado Springs, Colorado : WaterBrook, [2022] — 158.2 Allen 02/2022
  • This Is Where You Belong

    the Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live

    Warnick, Melody
    Whether for work, school, or other obligations, families may relocate many times in their lives. This is a practical guide to building community in your new neighborhood and putting down roots when moving to a new place.
    BookNew York, New York : Viking, [2016] — 155.94 Warnick 06/2016
  • This moving collection of poems explores identity, community, connection, and assimilation through the lens of young Mexican-American men.
    BookBoston : Beacon Press, [2020] — 811.6 Torres 10/2020
  • Big Friendship

    How We Keep Each Other Close

    Sow, Aminatou
    Friendships can be as intimate and important relationships as those with partners or family, but require the same care and tending in order to truly flourish. The creators of the Call Your Girlfriend podcast share their personal experience…
    BookNew York : Simon & Schuster, 2020. — 177.6208 Sow 07/2020
  • Palaces for the People

    How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life

    Klinenberg, Eric
    Loneliness isn't just a matter of challenges cultivating relationships -- changes in our physical, built environments have also led directly to a decline in community. Learn how "third spaces" can be powerful places for social…
    BookNew York : Crown, [2018] — 307.7609 Klinenbe 09/2018
  • Thriving public spaces are crucial for sustainability, creativity, and healthy living -- so why are they neglected, and how can we reverse it?
    BookNew York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2023] — 307.76 Low 01/2023
  • We Heal Together

    Rituals and Practices for Building Community and Connection

    Johnson, Michelle Cassandra
    A practical guide for reclaiming what it means to hold space and build community; find joy; connect to and summon support from our ancestors; connect with nature to strengthen and restore ourselves; and love, alchemize, dream, and conjure…
    BookBoulder, Colorado : Shambhala, [2023] — 204.42 Johnson 04/2023
  • Treating People Well

    the Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life

    Berman, Lea,
    A modern Emily Post meets The West Wing in this guide to social interactions in the workplace and your personal life from the social secretaries for Bush II and Obama.
    BookNew York : Scribner, 2018. — 177.1 Berman 01/2018
  • A practical guide with concrete steps to help readers build connections with loved ones and forge new relationships in the digital, post-Covid age.
    BookPhiladelphia : Running Press, 2021. — 158.25 Poswolsk 05/2021
  • Fighting for Our Friendships

    the Science and Art of Conflict and Connection in Women's Relationships

    Jackson, Danielle Bayard,
    One part textbook, one part handbook, this is a guide to research-based practices to strengthen relationships between women.
    BookNew York, NY : Hachette Go, an imprint of Hachette Books, 2024. — 302.34082 Jackson 06/2024
  • First Love

    Essays on Friendship

    Dancyger, Lilly,
    Friendships between women are complex, nuanced, and often more important than romantic relationships and crucial in how women build their identities. This collection of essays focuses on the love between women in tender prose through…
    BookNew York : The Dial Press, [2024] — 177.6208 Dancyger 05/2024