Longing embodies the emotional experiences of desiring something ideal that is perceived as unattainable. It often involves comparisons to others and situations, contributing to feelings of dissatisfaction and a struggle for change. High levels of longing correlate with decreased well-being, and those affected often feel powerless. While a continuous desire for more diminishes overall happiness, embracing gratitude for current possessions can alleviate the focus on unmet desires. Claire Jia's debut novel reflects on these themes, highlighting social comparison, longing, and contentment that resonate with readers.
Longing embodies thoughts and feelings about life's imperfections matched with a vision of an ideal, alternative experience of life that is outside of our grasp. According to researchers, longing is an intense recurrent experience marked by emotional ambivalence, and is often focused on a certain domain of our lives, whether its romantic relationships, career, or family.
Those who experience high levels of longing in life tend to experience reduced well-being and a global desire for change. However, most people who struggle with unfulfilled longings tend to feel like they have little control or power to make a change in that area of their life.
Wanting more reduces well-being, while contentment reduces attention to have-want discrepancies. The object of our desire represents a broad range of deep motives and wants. In the midst of wanting, we often evaluate our lives, comparing ourselves and our situation to an imagined ideal.
Debut author Claire Jia explores social comparison, longing, and contentment in her novel, and brings insightful observations, personal experiences, and a passion for bringing real life to the page in a way that is relatable to readers who long for more.
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