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Great Escape

The Art of Being Completely Alone

Society thinks it’s time I partner up. I think it’s time to retreat into the woods.

Emily J. Smith
GEN
Published in
6 min readAug 20, 2018

Photo by Jonathan Pendleton on Unsplash

TThe woman taking my temperature is young, not yet 30. Her skin is tight and glowing in a way I only recognize now that mine is dragging and a little dull, her eyes eager to smile, her whole face nearly smiling already. She wears a crisp white shirt under a teal cardigan. The accents in her gold necklace are the same teal; so are her glossy nails. Staring down at my hands, I notice the coffee stain on the arm of my sweatshirt, a rip in its cotton cuff.

As she inspects my ear, I explain that I’m going away for two months, and though I know it’s probably only a cold, I wanted to get it checked out before I left, just in case it was serious. She asks, sweetly curious and excited for me, a complete stranger, where I’m going, and I tell her a small town in Vermont. She asks if the trip is for work, and I say no, I work from home; I just want to get away. She asks if I know anyone up there, if I’m visiting family or friends. Again I say no, my voice now shaky. I see confusion hit her face, a flash of concern. Alone? she asks. I nod. She smiles, this time not because she wants to, but because she has nothing else to say.

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GEN
GEN

Published in GEN

A former publication from Medium about politics, power, and culture. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Emily J. Smith
Emily J. Smith

Written by Emily J. Smith

Writer and tech professional. My debut novel, NOTHING SERIOUS, is out Feb '25 from William Morrow / HarperCollins (more at emjsmith.com).

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I absolutely love this piece. I wrote one almost identical to this when I was 36 or 37 (I’m 58 now) as a column for a women’s magazine I wrote for at the time. Mine was prompted by an article I read in some glossy fare; it was written by a…

Sitting alone in my apartment, for example, which I’ve recently allowed myself to accept is my absolute favorite thing to do, I’m plagued by the worry that my future self will look back...

Did you crawl into my mind, and my life, without me knowing!?!?