Isolation is like a cloak, and it wraps around you as something that is difficult to shed. And this is a very familiar struggle with many of us, either due to the previous trauma or individual struggles. The longing of connection usually fill our mind, and that is what we listen to when we read the characters in the story “The Bottle, The Bloodline, The War” by Fred McClendon.
An example is David Carter. He is that type of guy who finds himself confronting his demons and working his way through the blackness of his past. He is nervous and torn between old hurts and the near-hysterical urge to get out, to get in touch. These periods of solitude are acute. It seems like the walls are closing around you, though somewhere inside your heart, you have a sliver of hope that someone will get it.
The book demonstrates that relationships are important. They may be a lifeboat when it all goes overboard. It only takes one individual at times. A conversation. A touch. A glance. It is as though they could peel away at that separation. Even simple associations can enable us to deal with our fears.
Such stories make us realize that we are not alone in the struggle. The struggle of isolation is not only a battle with your inner demons; it is a battle that involves outreach and finding the people who will stand by your side. It is sloppy, it is crude, and that is all the beauty of it. Connection can be used to reverse the tide.
