This multidisciplinary collection of essays is concerned with transitional experiences faced by individuals and communities, and their associated states of solitude and feelings of loneliness.

Drawing from anthropological and sociological research on the liminal (von Gennep, Turner) and the related concept of anomie (Durkheim), the essays here explore periods or phases of personal and social development, as well as issues around belonging within, and alienation from, a community. Liminality can be conceptualized as a time of transition or an “in-between”. Liminal experiences occur on the edge of time and space. Both dimensions are interrelated: temporal phases create specific physical spaces, while certain physical locations trigger temporal transitions. These dimensions are noticeable in the themes of the chapters in this collection: inhabiting border spaces, oscillating between work and home spaces, or the temporal transition of phases of spiritual development or struggles with illness. In mourning, on the other hand, the coexistence of liminal dimensions is striking: it is the desolate space that induces the temporal phasing of mourning.

The essays here pursue the construct of liminality in relation to solitude and aloneness in the disciplines of educational science, psychology, theology, linguistics, health, arts, philosophy, sociology, economy, and gerontology. They are animated by questions including: When is liminality experienced as loneliness? What determines liminal spaces or situations of solitude as healthy or unhealthy? What are the experiences of individuals in those “borderline” situations upon entering or leaving liminality?

Written as they are in a refreshing variety of genres and styles, these eminently readable contributions will be of interest to anyone researching and teaching about the interrelated concepts of liminality and loneliness throughout the humanities and social sciences.