The Long Loneliness

The Long Loneliness is Dorothy Day’s memoir. Day writes about her longing, even as a child, to believe in something greater than herself. At first, it took hold in prayer, then in her devotion to socialism and the IWW. It was only when she combined the two—Catholicism and justice for workers—that she began to feel some sort of harmony. This journey was not easy, however. Throughout her life as a journalist, sister, friend, and mother, Day struggled with a desire to be spiritually flawless. At times, she was also urgently lonely. Indeed, in order to become Catholic, she weakened the strength of relations with family and friends. They simply did not understand her choice to turn to religion. She found that the answer to both of those hardships was love, which is brought about by a strong community. With Peter Maurin, she not only created The Catholic Worker newspaper, but the Catholic Worker Movement, which gave her the sense of both ideological and religious community that she had always craved. Based on her own self-analysis, Day was an introspective intellectual who also loved to discuss ideas and socialize with others.