Words by Alden Carrow Solitude is not a punishment; it is an instrument. We are social animals. We thrive on connection. Yet here is the paradox at the heart of every writer: we write about human connection, but we can only do it well once we have stepped far enough back to see it clearly. Think of a painter. To paint the mountain, they cannot be standing inside the mountain; they must stand some miles away. Solitude provides that distance. And the best place I know to find i