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BookPal discusses new book Belong with author Radha Agrawal.

Here at BookPal, we have our hands full with new books and are constantly on the lookout for new titles to inspire people and organizations to connect, learn, and grow. When this book came to our attention, we were thrilled because it does just that. We recently had the opportunity to chat with Radha Agrawal, author of Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life and are excited to share insights we learned with you!

First off, thank you for writing this book and for sharing your story with all of us, Radha — we're so grateful.  Let's jump in by first telling us a little about yourself:

My name is Radha Agrawal and I'm the author of Belong, a new book all about finding real friends and building your dream community from scratch. I'm also the founder and CEO of Daybreaker - an early morning dance community that meets in 23 cities all around the world, with a community of half a million people. Community changed my life and it’s now my mission to support every single human to belong.  

Can you tell us what community means to you?

Community is a container where you experience belonging. Belonging is that exhale of “ahhh I’m home”. It’s that warm energy that fills you up when you feel like you belong among a group of people who “get you”. Belonging is the essence of what it means to be human, and it's time we put more focus back on that.

Why do you feel "belonging" is more important today than it has been in the past?

It's more important today than ever before because isolation is an epidemic now in this country.  We are more alone than we ever have been before. There are too many ways to communicate. We are online, we are offline. We just are completely confused about how we find our people in this world. 1 in 4 Americans have zero friends to confide in and this number has tripled in the last thirty years. Forty-two percent of college students are experiencing anxiety and depression right now, which is insane. Isolation is as harmful to your physical health as being an alcoholic and twice as harmful as obesity.

What's the single most important thing you want people to know and do after reading Belong?

That making friends and nurturing relationships are the most important things we can do in life. That creating communities are the most generous act we can do as humans. And that readers will now know the answer to “how the heck do I find my people?!” and realize that it’s not as hard as they think with some simple tools and tips!

Who is Belong for?

We go through 8 inflection periods in our lives — from going to high school, college, new cities, new business, new family, new job, new retirement life — and it can be daunting to find new friends at every new phase of life. There are so many types of people who will read this book.  Belonging is such a universal concept and community-building is such a universal concept. I want a 10-year-old to read this book in the same way I want a 60-year-old CEO to read this book and take something away from it.

Any last takeaways for future readers of Belong?

There are so many moments in life where we deeply need community, and I hope this book gives you the comfort and confidence that it's right here waiting for you!

Purchase copies of Belong today to read more of Radha's inspiring story and empowering takeaways.

Follow Radha @love.radha and watch the full interview below:

This post was written by Karlyn Hixson, Marketing Director at BookPal.  She is currently reading The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton.