While the book is centered on connection in an increasingly digitalized and lonely world, it positively surprised me how Heng marries autobiographicalWhile the book is centered on connection in an increasingly digitalized and lonely world, it positively surprised me how Heng marries autobiographical, intercultural as well as sociological and psychological elements into a beautiful coming-of-age account of the powerful impact connection can have in today's day and age.
Content highlights: - what loneliness is and what it does to your brain (+pitfalls) - how to establish rapport with a person - how to establish connections in society - forgiveness and overall what you could call "turning lemons into lemonade"
What particularly resonated with me was the chapter on expats in typical expat/transitory vs. non-expat societies, in the latter of which there is much more social orbit permanence, which can make it hard to establish new connections - I experienced this first-hand, and would have loved to dive even deeper into this topic!
She does a great job at giving the reader a glimpse into her Asian upbringing, what it looked like in her case, and how this interplays with the demands of the Western society she grew up in - as a non-Asian person, this was deeply insightful to me.
Favourite quotes: When you're alone at the end of your life, your children grown up, how you will be remembered will be dictated by the seeds of human connection you have sown in your life. Your human connections are your legacy.
Certain things, like trauma, grief, and loss, are universal human experiences, and in some ways, these hardships are gifts because they provide such fertile ground for connection."
Another favourite take-away: Meet people not halfway but 80% of the way.
While the book is centered on connection in an increasingly digitalized and lonely world, it positively surprised me how Heng marries autobiographical, intercultural as well as sociological and psychological elements into a beautiful coming-of-age account of the powerful impact connection can have in today's day and age.
Content highlights: - what loneliness is and what it does to your brain (+pitfalls) - how to establish rapport with a person - how to establish connections in society - forgiveness and overall what you could call "turning lemons into lemonade"
What particularly resonated with me was the chapter on expats in typical expat/transitory vs. non-expat societies, in the latter of which there is much more social orbit permanence, which can make it hard to establish new connections - I experienced this first-hand, and would have loved to dive even deeper into this topic!
She does a great job at giving the reader a glimpse into her Asian upbringing, what it looked like in her case, and how this interplays with the demands of the Western society she grew up in - as a non-Asian person, this was deeply insightful to me.
Favourite quotes: When you're alone at the end of your life, your children grown up, how you will be remembered will be dictated by the seeds of human connection you have sown in your life. Your human connections are your legacy.
Certain things, like trauma, grief, and loss, are universal human experiences, and in some ways, these hardships are gifts because they provide such fertile ground for connection."
Another favourite take-away: Meet people not halfway but 80% of the way.
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