Connection
Finding Your People
Connection is one of the most fundamental things we need as human beings. And yet so many of us are quietly starving for it — not because there aren't people in our lives, but because the right kind of connection, the kind that actually nourishes you, can be surprisingly hard to find.
You can feel alone in a full room. You can feel unseen in a long relationship. You can have a hundred followers and nobody to call.
That's not a personal failing. It's one of the defining experiences of our time.
This pathway gathers places, books, films, conversations and ideas to help you find more of the connection that actually matters. Not networking. Not performing. Just the warm, genuine, sometimes messy business of being in each other's lives.
Culture Therapy
The Books, Films and Podcasts That Made Us Feel Less Alone
These are our hand-picked books, films, TV shows and podcasts on connection, friendship, belonging and community, the ones we've loved, been moved by, and immediately wanted to share with someone we care about.
Award-bagging writer Danielle Mustarde writes her prescription for the independent magazines to seek out in uncertain times.
Magalleria founder Daniel McCabe’s recommendations for the magazines to seek out when we’re lost, lonely, anxious, or just curious. There are some new discoveries to be had here.
Places Worth Showing Up For
Guidebook
Hand-picked places where connection tends to happen — community spaces, meet-ups, independent venues and initiatives built around the idea that we're better together. Places that make it a little easier to show up and a little harder to leave.
Discover Grief Disco, a welcoming and uplifting space for anyone living with loss. A place to heal, connect and feel grief through music, movement and community.
Discover Zenaa Retreats, a welcoming, fad-free approach to yoga and wellness retreats in the UK and abroad. Designed for real life, these nourishing escapes blend movement, rest, great food and genuine connection. Perfect for beginners, solo travellers and the yoga curious.
Explore Better Read Book Fest, a one-day festival of books, ideas, and authors to support your mental and emotional wellbeing.
Part of our wellbeing guide for life, IceBreakers offers men a welcoming space to step into nature, share conversation and find connection through cold water and simple weekly rituals.
A day at The Happy Place wellbeing festival — and the ideas I brought home with the tote bag
Discover Distil Coworking Somerset—an inspiring rural coworking space set in a restored mill with gardens, café and community. Ideal for creatives, freelancers and small business owners looking to feel more connected and work well in beautiful surroundings.
Glove Factory Studios in Bradford on Avon is a beautifully designed coworking space set in a restored Victorian glove factory. Home to a thriving community of creatives, freelancers, and entrepreneurs, it offers inspiring workspaces, events, and even a wild swimming pond.
Discover an organisation in Wales run by single parents for single-parent families that aims to foster connection and belonging.
Explore 42 Acres, a 173-acre regenerative estate and nature reserve in Somerset offering transformative retreats and nature-based experiences. Swim in the lake, meditate in the treehouse, or nourish yourself with farm-to-table food grown on-site.
Discover a community of friendly and fun-loving women of all ages, backgrounds and fitness levels based in the UK. With Women Outdoors, founder Emma Winters has created an environment where you can be your authentic self, develop outdoor skills, connect with like-minded women and go home with a big smile on your face.
This Colour Friday we’re celebrating the independent shops that we love. Find the perfect Holiday Gift from one of our favourite places.
A home for local craftsmanship and creativity, The Bristol Artisan embodies the spirit of community and sustainability of the city.
An uplifting place to browse and meet friends that spreads joy and wonder in Cheltenham and beyond
Tribe Porty makes good things happen for its community and beyond. Find out how this Edinburgh coworking space thinks differently about how we gather together to work.
Discover a family of creative workspaces in Bristol built by creatives for creatives. Now we’ve experienced life without each other, Gather Round restores real-life interactions that no amount of Zoom can replace.
This independent Bookshop Week, escape into the Imaginary with some of our favourite independent bookshops.
Looking for a new way to work? Co-founder of London’s Work + Play Freddie Scobey talks to us about how he’s creating a coworking space that’s reclaiming how we balance our lives.
We find out about London's Premier LGBTQ+ Boxing Club and the role that both the mind and community can play in physical wellbeing.
Talk Club is creating the space for much-needed conversations about men’s mental health. Meet Ben Akers, its inspirational founder, who is leading the change in how men think about mental fitness and emotional strength.
Discover a coworking space in Exeter that has become a place where people can come and escape their own four walls, and meet other like-minded individuals (maybe even friends for life).
An indie bookstore, that offers typewriters repairs, origami animals and soup on Christmas Day. Founder Tom Hodges tells us whyTypewronger is far more than just a place to buy books.
Looking for connection in one of the world’s busiest cities? Holly Cooke talks to us about why she started The London Lonely Girls Club and how it can inspire you wherever you are.
We speak to Amber Rich, founder of The Little Retreat and The Big Retreat Festival about how she arrived at these projects, how wellness is now something that we all reach for, and her role as a curator of discovery and awe.
Slow fashion meets community and connection at this California-based clothing store and cafe.
In conversation with soberIRL founder Karla Carolina on the power of connection in sobriety.
Which cafes do more than get you started in the morning? Here we’re featuring a handful of cafes that go beyond coffee to our communities, our planet, even our minds.
A space dedicated to bringing fiction into the world, that supports our real lives as it does so.
Sidewalk Talk takes the psychotherapist’s couch outdoors, creating the space for anyone to be heard.
The magic that can happen when a Michelin-starred chef takes on food insecurity, food waste and social isolation.
From The Journal
Essays and ideas to help you feel a little more like yourself.
Think of our journal as a quiet corner of the internet dedicated to the question of how to better navigate everyday life. We write about all the ways we’re figuring out what matters — and we regularly invite in the thinkers and voices we admire, because the best ideas about direction rarely come from just one place.
If other people's approval never feels like enough, you're not alone. Discover why we seek external validation and how emotions coaching can help you trust yourself more.
Always supporting everyone else can leave you exhausted and disconnected from yourself. Explore how to care for others without losing sight of your own needs.
People-pleasing isn't always a flaw to fix. Explore the difference between kindness and self-abandonment, why people-pleasing develops, and how to reconnect with your own needs.
Feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or disconnected? Explore how human connection can support us through difficult times, ease loneliness, and help us feel less alone in modern life.
When something shifts in your relationships, it can feel confusing and lonely. This piece explores how to stay connected while being yourself, even when it’s messy.
Feeling disconnected but too overwhelmed to socialise? Here’s how to gently rebuild your sense of community and connection — even when it feels like too much.
Discover how emotions like fear and loneliness shape disconnection and learn practical ways to reconnect with yourself and others.
Discover why independent bookstores, cafés, museums, and unexpected spaces are vital to our wellbeing. Why we’re writing a guide to help you find places that make life feel just that little bit better.
Explore the joy of friendship, why it matters to your well-being, and how to nurture these bonds—especially in the isolating winter months.
Feeling disconnected? In 2025, If Lost Start Here is making connection our word of the year. Read why it matters now more than ever and discover three ways to reconnect with yourself, others, and the world around you.
Discover five key insights on wellbeing, emotional resilience, and meaningful connection from a leading conference on female empowerment. Learn how to navigate self-doubt, improve relationships, and find balance in everyday life.
Feeling disconnected? Small acts of connection can transform your year. Discover simple, meaningful ways to combat loneliness, build relationships, and create more community in your everyday life.
Discover the benefits of connection for your wellbeing, learn to overcome fear and fatigue, and join our 7-day challenge to build meaningful relationships.
Feeling lonely or isolated? Discover the wellbeing benefits of connection and five actionable tips to foster meaningful relationships, even when life feels overwhelming.
Explore our guide to UK wellbeing destinations that get you outdoors, help you connect with others, and have more fun. Discover the places we seek out to feel good during the summer months.
Discover how Taylor Swift's music fosters emotional connection and self-discovery. Learn how her songs can help you connect more deeply with yourself and build meaningful relationships with others.
We are hardwired to connect. Explore some of the benefits that simply being together can have for your emotional well-being and mental health.
In conversation with soberIRL founder Karla Carolina on the power of connection in sobriety.
We talked to Silent Book Club co-founder Laura Gluhanich about how a simple night of reading with a friend became a global phenomenon.
We’ve put together a quick guide for how to maintain your mental wellbeing while social-distancing.
We talk to the British journalist Toni Jones, Founder of Shelf Help about the bookclub that became a global movement and why its her mission to make self-help accessible, collaborative and cool.
On cafes and why my love for them is maybe not just a personal one, but part of a wider universal longing.
It’s like a religious revival tent meeting, but for cynics. Instead of their Sunday best, they wear their vintage 1940s finest. Rather than speaking in tongues, they wax on and on about who played what character in whatever desperately underrated classic. And Communion comes in the form of a big dose of black and white on the Castro Theatre’s massive screen.
Feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, or emotionally exhausted? Explore why human connection matters most in difficult times. Inspired by conversations from our podcast, A Thought I Kept.