The Right Amount of Solitude

Most books on solitude take a psychological diagnostic view. This book's author, Minoru Kamata, is instead an old doctor with years of practice and an honorary hospital director. Starting from his experience in community medicine in Nagano, Japan, and his observations of lives that reach a hundred, he discusses the most practical things: what to eat when dining alone, how to arrange time when by oneself, whether to care about others' eyes, and how to maintain independence in later life. The book does not encourage readers to cut themselves off from the world, nor does it treat solitude as a disease to be eliminated; instead it repeatedly emphasizes moderation—keeping necessary connections while preserving space for being alone. The writing is plain and unhurried, free of difficult jargon, and reads like a walk and a chat with a deeply experienced elder. It suits a commute or bedtime reading: one or two chapters a day, checking your own life's rhythm as you go.