When I released my first book Me Too: A Therapist's Journey To Heal, Find Liberation, & Joy, I had no idea I'd get the inkling to write again. And then about a year ago as I meandered through the online dating world something started to emerge in me that has taken many forms since that first nudge. At first I thought I wanted to write about how online dating was like the wild wild west because of some of the mind blowing things I had experienced over the years. The first conversation was with my executive assistant, and partner in curation, as I chuckled about my recent shocking dates which included indecent exposure twice on one date (which happened to be the first and last by the way :)). 

 

What started with me making light of the highs and lows of dating in the age we're in, turned to a quest to understand love in its entirety. Although I have actually been searching to understand love far longer. 

 

Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendricks helped me understand that we choose partners unconsciously to heal wounds from our childhood. Hungry for more, I turned to All About Love by bell hooks which helped me appreciate that love is so much more than what we feel. Then in hopes I could repair what had been fundamentally broken in my relationship with Kali, I read Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by Dr. Sue Johnson. And I got an even deeper understanding about self love when I read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

 

I had no idea then that these books would lead me to Love Will Liberate. Those early reads, along with Dr. Marissa Franco's Platonic and Vex King's The Things No One Taught Us About Love, along with so many others, have helped me chart a blueprint for love that encompasses all of our relationships, especially for those who have been harmed at the hands of others. 

 

Part science, part inspiration, part real stories, I will take readers on a journey to understand how to give and receive love in the fullest ways possible and why this, more than anything, supports our wellbeing. We'll investigate what gets in the way of loving yourself and others and what we can do about it. Lastly, building and sustaining beautiful relationships (platonic and romantic) will be explored, starting with where to find your people and how to keep them. 

 

In a world where we're becoming more and more disconnected, Love Will Liberate is timely for us all. But more than anyone, I wrote this book for people like me who've experienced trauma and grief and have struggled to build and maintain healthy relationships with partners, lovers, and friends as a result. 

 

So in that spirit, Love Will Liberate is like the love letter to my first book, Me Too: A Therapist's Journey to Heal, Find Liberation, & Joy. It chronicles what's happened since I blew up my life with my partner of twenty years; someone who I hurt deeply because of my limited capacity to love at that time. 

 

I am far removed from the place I was when I started this love journey, which has brought me closer to understanding the language of love, and therefore garnering beautiful friendships, lovers, and partners along the way. 

 

I've learned a great deal about myself since starting this journey - some of which has rocked me to my core. I’ve opened myself up more and more to the possibilities that love could show up anywhere and at any time, and in packages that I may have never selected on my own. 

 

Since I started down this pathway, I have loved and been loved in ways I had no idea I wanted nor needed. I’ve allowed myself to have some mind blowing, screen worthy explorations. I’ve fallen in love and had my heart broken a few times. Through it all I have become a better lover, mother, friend, sister, daughter, and partner. I have become, and am still becoming, the love I have so desperately desired.

 

What I have learned about myself, the ways I have loved and acted from a place less than love, and what it takes to build relationships worthy of who we are will change how you love and allow love to flow in.

 

Relationships have the power to help us rise more fully into who we are, or take us to some of the lowest parts of ourselves. This book will help you find love within yourself so deeply that you will never compromise on lackluster relationships again or choose a life of solitude because you actually were never meant to. 

 

Life is so much sweeter when we're surrounded by love from others. We were born to love and be loved. Let's get back to our true loving nature. 

 

In love, truth, and power,