William Henderson

“Fond as [Naomi James] was of her faraway fiancé, another solo sailor, 'I'm a natural loner because as long as I know [my fiancé] is alive and well, I don't really worry about him. He has his life to live and I've got mine, and if I can survive then I'm sure he can.”
― Anneli Rufus, Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto

“NONLONERS BORROW A term from Jung and call us introverts. They think it makes them sound intelligent to say so.”
― Anneli Rufus, Party of One: The Loners' Manifesto

“Is that what they think, then? That loners have no friends?”
― Anneli Rufus, Party of One: The Loners' Manifesto

“Because loners are born everywhere, we end up living everywhere. We do not, have not, tended to single ourselves out as special, elite, requiring rarefied environments. Too often we have done the opposite; lived where we lived because our jobs were there, or families, or because we'd heard the schools were good there, or that we would love a place with changing seasons. Then, no matter what, we put our noses to the grindstone. We take living there as a fait accompli, a fact. Too often we are miserable somewhere without realizing why. We blame ourselves for not buckling down, settling in, fitting in. The problem is the place, but too often we do not see this, we will not allow ourselves to see this. It's the same old thing: This is a friendly town, so what's your problem?
...To the non-loner, or the self-reproaching loner, the fact of being a loner is not comparable to those other determinants. It is not a matter of life and death, we tell ourselves. It its not a matter of breathing or of execution by stoning. But home is the crucible of living...So how can living not be a matter of life and death?”
― Anneli Rufus, Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto