Radical Intimacy: Cultivate the Deeply Connected Relationships You Desire and Deserve

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With intimacy as the foundational principle of our existence, we can build a life based on what we truly need, not what we think we need or have been told we need. By embracing the practice of radical intimacy, I can confidently promise my readers a personal revolution of self-acceptance, appreciation, vitality, and confidence. And without fail, mind-blowing, soul-stirring, earth-shattering sex follows.” —Zoë Kors Getting physical certainly stirs up the neurochemistry of attachment, mobilizing oxytocin and opioids that generate positive feelings and encourage more of the same. Once we link those feelings with a particular person, we want to stay with that person. Clinch and repeat. Implores us to transcend our unfair social structures to instead compassionately reconnect with one another' Radical Intimacy shows that it doesn't need to be this way. Including inspiring ideas for alternative ways to live, Sophie K Rosa demands we use our radical imagination to discover a new form of intimacy.

Though it may be impossible to place this work in one genre, The Argonauts can arguably be seen as a great work of autotheory; what critical theorist Lauren Fournier describes as “the commingling of theory and philosophy with autobiography”, which is often seen as a queer/trans/feminist form of activism. In her collective pursuit with friends, family and philosophers, Nelson seeks to make sense of the world and try to find new ways of being, doing and living that are not delineated by hegemony. In particular, her questions and commentary on pregnancy and kinship, merged here with Butler, open up an interesting dialectic of how we think about LGBTQI+ rights and their relationship to the concept of family: Is there something inherently queer about pregnancy itself, insofar as it profoundly alters one’s ‘normal’ state and occasions a radical intimacy with – and radical alienation from – one’s body? How can an experience so profoundly strange symbolize or enact the ultimate conformity?Questions of ethics and duty of care to participants (and ourselves) are often institutionally decided, and within those decisions are structures of power that sometimes do not consider what it means to be “other” in the academy. Researchers can sometimes bypass the sensitivity needed to approach individuals and communities and there is often a disconnect here between intention and impact, which can leave queer people feeling disillusioned and misrepresented. I decided to read this after scanning the blurb and thinking "Huh, this reminds me of 'all about love' by bell hooks. I love that book!" 'all about love' is referenced a lot in Radical Intimacy, so I'm not surprised I came to that conclusion at first glance, but reading Radical Intimacy didn't inspire me with hope or make me question the fundamental concept of love, let alone to the extent that 'all about love' did. It was mostly a bummer. Radical Intimacy scrutinises the reality of love and intimacy ... it also paints a moving alternative of what a different reality can offer. The call to action is strong; she is asking, with compassion and conviction, for collective liberation and for a revolution’

Radical Intimacy shows that it doesn't need to be this way. A punchy and impassioned account of inspiring ideas about alternative ways to live, Sophie K Rosa demands we use our radical imagination to discover a new form of intimacy and to transform our personal lives and in turn society as a whole.Capitalist ideology wants us to believe that there is an optimal way to live. 'Making connections' means networking for work. Our emotional needs are to be fulfilled by a single romantic partner, and self-care equates to taking personal responsibility for our suffering. In this, Rosa discusses a few (non-exhaustive) areas such as death, healthcare, family, and work. I found myself drawn more towards the discussions of death (and caring), as it (unsurprisingly) isn't something I've considered in a collective sense. Personally what would've elevated this discussion more is bringing in Freud's Death Drive theory, particularly Edelman's use of it in relation to the child, as I noticed children, The Child, adult centrism sentiments, etc weren't really brought in, bar when considering the concept of 'youth'. Nelson traverses her own negotiations with these questions within the text, while we as readers are invited along for the ride and asked to look inward. These questions are also pertinent to sociologists and those who are engaged in social research more generally. Often within the discipline of sociology there is a dismissal of LGBTQI+ topics as “me-search” or “too micro” to be applicable to wider society. However, as shown within The Argonauts, queer life stories need to be told to offer critical interventions within our contemporary socio-political moment. Anyway, if you finish reading Radical Intimacy and think you'd like something else on the subject, read 'all about love' by bell hooks.

As The Argonauts seems to suggest, perhaps intimacy, with (and despite) its problems, might offer new insights that are grounded in empathy, but nevertheless generative. Nelson’s work embraces the messiness, complexity and contradictions that are inherent in all social life: in our ideas, institutions and within each individual. What are the ethical implications of telling another’s story? Who gets to speak and why? What are the limits of the citation and can we exist beyond it? If our world is so bound up in questions of the seeable and sayable, then what power is enacted when we foreground the bodies, minds and lives of others in our work? Rosa's groundbreaking manifesto invites us into a politically emancipatory conceptualisation of intimacy beyond capitalism and heteronormativity’ Learning the art of building true intimacy gives you the opportunity to grow deeper, more enriching bonds with others, and even yourself. By turning your attention inward to gain clarity on your divine needs and how to fulfill them, you can transform all of your relationships. With the right expert guidance, anyone can increase their capacity for love in a way that nourishes their heart and soul.

We believe everyone deserves the gift of wellness, regardless of their finances. This is why we offer three pricing tiers — and yes, you get the same content no matter what you pay. A narrative guide and practical methodology for nurturing and sustaining our relationships with ourselves, others, and the world. The standout stuff for me was the criticism of psychiatry, the pathologization of trauma, and the way that mental illness is so racialised in the UK. I'd probably recommend these sections to others even though I didn't vibe with most of the rest of the book because it was really cohesive and the conclusions that were drawn were presented so well. saw hot strike summer unfold across the UK. A wave of collective action took workplaces by storm, with employees demanding change as the cost of living crisis laid bare the scale of worker exploitation – all while CEOs and executives made (and continue to make) astronomical profits. Troublemaking combines years of conversations with workers on the frontlines across the globe with clear points for action. Written by two union members who have experience in organising, this book is a great entry point if you’re new to the world of unionising and worker solidarity.

The combination of citation and speech from others intermingled within the prose makes it difficult to know where the author ends and another takes her place.A clarion voice from a new generation of British feminists ... I was gripped' - Sophie Lewis, author of Abolish the Family In this reflective book, activist and writer Munroe Bergdorf reveals how transitioning is a universal part of the human experience, and something that all of us can relate to. By w riting from her personal experience of gender transition and integrating theory from key experts and activists, Bergdorf reveals how we can understand transitioning as a shared experience. By shining a light on the inevitable reality of change, it aims to bring us together and build a more understanding and inclusive world. Made me reconsider so many of the cultural scripts I've been fed my whole life. Unsparing, important and hopeful’ Stronger chapters focused on the housing and health and social care crises, and I found her chapter on grief and death very interesting. It’s clear that a lot of work went into this and Rosa is great at synthesising the views of others. But I think there was so much in the book the analysis was sometimes superficial, as another reviewer has written. Rosa really comes into her own when she offers her own analysis, which was particularly the case in the chapter on housing, rather than offering us other people’s views. Though Nelson mostly focuses on her own perspectives of her relationship with Dodge, her text is deeply reflexive throughout. The Argonauts is a work that highlights our need to be open to critique and to be accountable for ourselves, both through communication with others and through self-reflection. For sociologists, reflexivity is a key part of doing social research.