具体描述
Iconic couples’ therapist and bestselling author of Mating in Captivity Esther Perel returns with a provocative look at relationships through the lens of infidelity.
Affairs, she argues, have a lot to teach us about the human heart—what we expect, what we think we want, and what we feel entitled to. They offer a unique window into our personal and cultural attitudes about love, lust, and commitment. Through examining illicit love from multiple angles, Perel invites readers into an honest, enlightened, and entertaining exploration of modern marriage in its many variations.
An affair: it can rob a couple of their relationship, their happiness, their very identity. And yet, this extremely common human experience is so poorly understood. Adultery has existed since marriage was invented, and so too the prohibition against it—in fact, it has a tenacity that marriage can only envy. So what are we to make of this time-honored taboo—universally forbidden yet universally practiced? Why do people cheat—even those in happy marriages? Why does an affair hurt so much? When we say infidelity, what exactly do we mean? Do our romantic expectations of marriage set us up for betrayal? Is there such a thing as an affair-proof marriage? Is it possible to love more than one person at once? Can an affair ever help a marriage? Perel weaves real-life case stories with incisive psychological and cultural analysis in this fast-paced and compelling book.
For the past ten years, Perel has traveled the globe and worked with hundreds of couples who have grappled with infidelity. Betrayal hurts, she writes, but it can be healed. An affair can even be the doorway to a new marriage—with the same person. With the right approach, couples can grow and learn from these tumultuous experiences, together or apart.
Fiercely intelligent, The State of Affairs provides a daring framework for understanding the intricacies of love and desire. As Perel observes, “Love is messy; infidelity more so. But it is also a window, like no other, into the crevices of the human heart.”
用户评价
##existential affair的说法有意思，关系性质彼此明确的话，affair源于个人的existential crisis. 修补关系的沟通：分析需求而非执迷细节，investigative instead of detective approach.
##the book does bring some interesting perspectives to the everyday notion of affairs
##作者的TED和Youtube上关于这本书对作者所做的interview（Esther Perel with Chris Cuomo: The state of Affairs — rethinking infidelity)也很值得一看。然后不知道是不是作者会九国语言的缘故，或者我的词汇量太小，感觉整本书的用词都很晦涩，不想一直查字典就各种连猜带蒙，重温了刷阅读理解题的感受😳
##作者的TED和Youtube上关于这本书对作者所做的interview（Esther Perel with Chris Cuomo: The state of Affairs — rethinking infidelity)也很值得一看。然后不知道是不是作者会九国语言的缘故，或者我的词汇量太小，感觉整本书的用词都很晦涩，不想一直查字典就各种连猜带蒙，重温了刷阅读理解题的感受😳
##例子生动 文笔到位
##人们为什么结成亲密关系，又为何不忠？写挺好的，文笔和学术性都有，感觉还照顾了一下通俗读者如本人的八卦心情。她的有些关于infidelity的回答很巧妙，感觉避开了卫道士敏感的神经又表达了自己的观点。也许有人因为得了癌症获得了更好的人生体验，但是我不建议大家得癌症。另外这本书里好多图书馆三十秒名场面啊。
##the book does bring some interesting perspectives to the everyday notion of affairs
##剖析极为细致 摈弃了非黑即白的论调 将事情复杂化人性化了 厉害厉害
Thought provoking indeed. 跟她的前作Mating in Captivity比起来，这本书是基于前作并更加专攻infidelity。Esther Perel在这一方面真的是我的偶像了，每次看她的书听她的podcast都学到好多。她给的观点都相当客观，都有现实案例来支撑。Infidelity可以让情侣们学到很多，但她并不建议大家走这条路去吸取教训；polyamory不是毫无规矩的纵欲，他们也有自己遵循的一套法则；很多时候infidelity是基于沟通失败，权力关系失衡等等的缘由；有的关系可以在经历外遇后存活，有的则不能，所以根本没有一个完美的解决方案。最重要的还是明白恋爱关系中并没有“占有权”，一切都是“租赁关系”，可以重新“续单”很好，不能重新“续单”要反思。