Hello, Stranger: Stories of Connection in a Divided World: How We Find Connection in a Disconnected World

We navigate our interactions with strangers according to a host of unwritten rules, rituals and (sometimes awkward) attempts at politeness. But what if the people we meet were not a problem, but a gift?

When philosopher and traveller Will Buckingham’s partner died, he sought solace in throwing open the door to new people. Now, as we reflect on our experiences of the pandemic and its enforced separations, and as global migration figures ever more prominently in our collective future, Buckingham brings together insights from philosophy, anthropology, history and literature to explore how our traditions of meeting the other can mitigate the issues of our time.

Taking in stories of loneliness, exile and friendship from classical times to the modern day, and alighting in adapting communities from Birmingham to Myanmar, Hello, Stranger asks: how do we set aside our instinctive xenophobia - fear of outsiders - and embrace our equally natural philoxenia - love of strangers and newness?

For readers of Rutger Bregman and Adam Philips, a timely, humane and uplifting exploration of how our history of welcoming strangers can offer a vital antidote to our increasingly atomised world.

Will Buckingham is a writer, academic and traveller with an MA in Anthropology and a PhD in Philosophy. He has previously published books in several genres, including philosophy and fiction for children and adults. Born in the UK, he has worked and travelled all over the world. He co-directs Wind&Bones, a social enterprise that explores how writing can help us connect and reconnect, and is currently based in Sofia, Bulgaria.