400 Friends and No One to Call

Breaking through Isolation and Building Community

A friendly, candid, and sensible guide for seeking comfort during isolating times when you have no one to count on.

Val Walker has woven into the narrative her own story as a single, fifty-eight-year-old woman who found herself stranded after major surgery. As a well-established rehabilitation counselor, she was too embarrassed to reveal on social media how utterly isolated she was by asking for someone to help, and it felt agonizingly awkward calling colleagues out of the blue. As she recovered, Val found her voice and developed a plan of action for people who lack social support, not only to heal from the pain of isolation, but to create a solid strategy for rebuilding support. 400 Friends and No One to Call spells out the how-tos for befriending our wider community, building a social safety net, and fostering our sense of belonging. On a deeper level, we are invited to befriend our loneliness, rather than feel ashamed of it, and open our hearts and minds to others trapped in isolation.