On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation

An exploration of the power of belonging in an age of social isolation, drawing on lessons from innovative leaders, individuals, and organizations to show how we can create lives and communities centered on human connectionWhat does it mean to belong? Today we're at an inflection point. Stress, disconnection, and increasing environmental degradation have people yearning for more than just material progress, legal liberty, or political stability. We are yearning for deeper connection. We are longing to belong. In On Belonging, Kim Samuel explores our current crisis and maps out four dimensions of belonging: in our relationships with other people, in our rootedness in nature, in our ability to influence political and economic decision-making, and in our finding of meaning and purpose in our lives. An expert on the subject and an advocate with strong international ties, Samuel introduces readers to innovators around the world who are cultivating belonging. Whether it's through sports, music, education, mental health, cultural traditions, or the environment, they are healing a rift and offer lessons in how every one of us can create a world where we feel at home.

Kim Samuel is an activist, educator, and movement builder. She is the founder of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness and an academic lecturer at institutions including Oxford, Harvard, and McGill Universities. Samuel was recently named visiting scholar at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, University of Oxford and the first-ever Fulbright Canada ambassador for diversity and social connectedness. She lives in Toronto.