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

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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. Every course includes access to a private online community with fellow course members. Ask questions, share your stories, and enjoy benefiting from the encouragement and wisdom of others. Sophie K. Rosa challenges us to rethink, reimagine, resist and redefine intimacy according to our own standards instead of those force-fed to us via the white supremacist capitalist cisheteropatriarchy. Consider this the next read in your study group.’ 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.

I cannot say that I read the book without some discomfort (which is often the case when I read reflections on trans lives from cis perspectives), particularly the discussion about Dodge’s medical transition. Within the discussions of hormones, surgery and recovery, Nelson does not decentralise herself from the discussion. Though she is writing “personally”, I think there are limits to how deep one can delve into such private matters. Love may be deeply embodied, but even the (dis)embodied voice(s) of this memoir cannot speak from everywhere, or from everyone – and neither can we as social researchers. 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? A clarion voice from a new generation of British feminists ... I was gripped' - Sophie Lewis, author of Abolish the FamilyAnyway, if you finish reading Radical Intimacy and think you'd like something else on the subject, read 'all about love' by bell hooks.

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 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.

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Rosa's groundbreaking manifesto invites us into a politically emancipatory conceptualisation of intimacy beyond capitalism and heteronormativity’ Though short, this is a very dense, well-researched book about how capitalism prevents us from living full lives in which we can support and love each other. I agreed with the premise already, so it was a preaching to the converted situation for the most part. A narrative guide and practical methodology for nurturing and sustaining our relationships with ourselves, others, and the world. “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