Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to a 3-part miniseries of Alonement produced for Loneliness Awareness Week in collaboration with the Marmalade Trust.

My first guest is Alex Holmes, an author, podcaster and mental health educator. On his podcast, Time To Talk, Alex interviews his guests about mental health, masculinity, identity and emotional education. His book of the same name, Time To Talk: How Men Think About Love, Belonging and Connection, came out earlier this year. Alex reached out to me a couple of months ago on Instagram to say hello, ahead of a panel event we’ll be doing together at a literary festival later this year. Unbeknown to him, I was putting together the line-up for this mini-series – and I jumped at the chance to have him on.

I was so grateful to have this conversation with Alex, who proved so generous in every sense – generous with his time for coming on and generous with his honesty and vulnerability in what he shares. First up, we talk about his own experience of growing up feeling lonely – despite being part of a loving family – and how he came to terms with this. Later on, we discuss how owning your imperfections, far from alienating you, can actually become a force for connection. That’s a lot of other good stuff in there too. But, in a nutshell, have a listen – and I hope you enjoy. 

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You can find Alex on Instagram at @byalexholmes.

As ever, follow Alonement on Instagram @alonementofficial, and follow host Francesca Specter on Twitter @ChezSpecter

You can learn more about the Marmalade Trust and the work they do on Twitter (@marmaladetrust) and Instagram (marmalade_trust)

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