I always prick up my ears when someone talks about losing a parent during childhood. I think this is the first time I’ve heard someone explicitly say he isolated himself. He had also been bullied. He didn’t say a lot about feeling isolated, and he didn’t describe “holing up” as self-protection, but still I felt I could relate.
My journals have helped me get some perspective on an aspect of my personality that I’ve often disparaged: I’m not a natural at self-promoting and competing in a public setting or a career setting. I cooperate easily rather than fighting for my own agenda. In fact, I forget NOT to cooperate.