At the heart of Alone at the Party is the importance of empathy, and, by providing the reader with, not just the usual [yet highly practical] litany of do's and don't's, but also a fictional account of a very diverse support group of queer men and others struggling with loneliness, the reader, from jump, must exercise their own empathy to follow each group member's struggle and journey, easy to do when the characters are so fully fleshed out and human. Alone at the Party is, yes, a self-help book, but it's also a wonderful narrative with full characters endeavouring toward their goals in the face of difficult obstacles. I'll wager one out two of their journeys may even look a little familiar. Francoeur has provided a veritable roadmap away from loneliness to rival GPS. Reading Alone at the Party, I kept finding myself nodding along, saying, " Yep, mmhmm, yes, yup." He takes what we all know and feel intuitively and codifies it in a way that turns something big and scary into something compact and conquerable. Alone at the Party will give hope--and actionable advice--to any queer person feeling, well, alone at the party. The perfect read for any queer person who's ever felt that everyone else is partying without them.

And isn't that all of us? With vivid and helpful analogies, action plans and descriptions, I predict it won't be long before you hear someone in the circle talking about filling their "gas tank" or how it "takes people to meet people." Especially if I happen to be in your circle.