A young couple grapples with the intertwining challenges of love and immigration, confronting personal sacrifices and long-distance hurdles. They explore the pressures of familial expectations and commitment while navigating their identities. Emotional dynamics take center stage as they reflect on the balance between independence and connection, learning to nurture friendships beyond romance. The discussion shifts to transforming guilt into gratitude, emphasizing appreciation in relationships, and delving into the complexities of distance and secrecy.
50:36
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
Man helps his mother gain independence
The man gave his mother US citizenship, a pivotal moment in their lives.
His mother's dependence on his father caused marital issues, and his intervention aimed to empower her.
insights INSIGHT
Shift in family dynamics
The man's act of providing citizenship to his mother greatly improved his parents' relationship.
This act shifted the power dynamics, granting his mother financial and emotional independence, reducing reliance on her son.
insights INSIGHT
Woman's impact
The woman is the first woman to enter the man's family system.
She brings a female perspective and companionship.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In this book, Esther Perel explores the paradoxical union of domesticity and sexual desire, arguing that our cultural penchant for equality, togetherness, and absolute candor can be antithetical to erotic desire. Drawing on more than twenty years of experience as a couples therapist, Perel uses case studies and lively discussions to demonstrate how more exciting, playful, and poetic sex is possible in long-term relationships. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining independence, mystery, and the space between self and other to sustain desire.
The state of affairs
Rethinking Infidelity
Esther Perel
In this book, Esther Perel delves into the complex and often misunderstood topic of infidelity. She weaves real-life case stories with psychological and cultural analysis to understand why people cheat, even in happy marriages. Perel argues that affairs can provide a unique window into modern relationships, revealing our expectations, desires, and cultural attitudes about love, lust, and commitment. The book offers practical advice on how couples can heal from infidelity and potentially grow and learn from these tumultuous experiences.
They met in college; he's a U.S. citizen and she's trapped in a cross-border limbo. Their young love complicated by immigration status and politics, Esther helps them appreciate each other's sacrifices as they contemplate marriage.
What you are about to hear is a series Esther calls The Arc of Love. Each session centers around a couple’s story. Whether it’s issues of trust and betrayal, care and aggression, closeness and distance, repair and rupture, polyamory or monogamy. The episodes can be listened to in any order you want but were curated with a beginning, middle, and end.
Want to learn more? Receive monthly insights, musings, and recommendations to improve your relational intelligence via email from Esther: https://www.estherperel.com/newsletter
Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel 
