Author Dave Mainelli talks about his short story book collection How to Be Lonely and how the stories test the limits of the human condition and our occasionally tenuous grip on a life well lived. Mainelli also shares how his writing has bridged from the truth of his own experiences with ill health to inspire some of the challenges facing his protagonists.

Dave Mainelli teaches creative writing at Wayne State College and, starting in the Fall, at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. HIs short story collection, How To Be Lonely, was published by WSC Press in March of 2021. Mainelli draws from his diverse experiences in life to muse on our loneliness with a dark humor and a melancholy recipe. The stories test the limits of the human condition and Albert Camus' so called "serious problem" on whether life is worth living. His writing often delves into the American lower middle class and those living just below the veil of the American dream.