Open: An Uncensored Memoir of Love, Liberation, and Non-Monogamy

Drawing from her detailed diaries and journals and interviews with experts and therapists, and immersing herself in the polyamory community, an award-winning journalist, putting her own heart on the line, delves into the growing trend toward relationships that pushes love beyond the familiar borders of monogamy.
"When Rachel Krantz met and fell for Jacob, he told her that he was looking to make a commitment--one that did not include exclusivity. Both anxious and excited at the prospect of a different way to commit, Krantz entered a relationship built equally on love and liberation. And as an inveterate journalist and writer of extraordinary perceptiveness and emotional nuance, she not only put her heart on the line, but kept painstakingly detailed notes, interviewed other couples, and relentlessly interrogated her own emotions as she went down the rabbit hole of non-monogamy. What results is a unique combination of memoir and immersion journalism that reads like sexy, page-turning fiction and casts an unflinching eye on non-monogamy, from the debilitating jealousy and anxiety spirals to the heart-opening connections and exhilarating eroticism. As she and Jacob attempt to rewrite the way love works, she runs up against power and gender dynamics either written by biology or engrained by culture--and must repeatedly face the question, is Jacob her liberator or her manipulator? Krantz fearlessly takes us inside both her interior and intimate moments as she also interviews experts and tells the stories of other couples who have created a range of relationship styles to fit their desires. Non-monogamy is the way into universal questions about love and happiness, which Krantz confronts with probing analysis and incredible candor: Can a person have both freedom and love? How do we reconcile closeness and lust? How can men and women achieve equality in relationships? What does it mean to trust someone? Can you love without jealousy? And, ultimately, is the pleasure worth the pain?"--
An unprecedented exploration of polyamory and gaslighting, from an award-winning journalist chronicling her first open relationship with unflinching candor as she explores this fast-growing movement“(A] sincere and curious reckoning with the cultural messaging we all receive about gendered expectations and power dynamics in romantic and sexual relationships.”—NPRFINALIST FOR THE LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PopSugar, ThemCan we have both freedom and love? Comfort and lust? Is a relationship ever equal? And is the pleasure worth the pain? When Rachel Krantz met and fell for Adam, he told her that he was looking for a committed partnership—just one that did not include exclusivity. Intrigued and more than a little nervous, Rachel decided to see whether their love could be open and coexist with the freedom to date other people. Could they strike an exquisite balance between intimacy and independence, and find a way to feel passion for one another once the honeymoon phase ended? For Open, her extraordinary debut memoir, Rachel interviewed scientists, psychologists, and people living and loving outside the mainstream as she searched to understand what non-monogamy would do to her heart, her mind, and her life. From exploring Brooklyn sex parties to the wider swinger and polyamory communities, Rachel and Adam attempt to write a new plot for their love story. But as the miscommunications and power imbalances mount, Rachel finds herself anxious, emotionally isolated, and seeking solid ground in a relationship where the rules seem to be ever-shifting. In Open, Rachel casts new light on the unique ways coercion and gaslighting manifest in open relationships, and finds herself wondering what liberation really looks like. With an unflinching eye and page-turning storytelling, Open is groundbreaking in both its documentarian approach to polyamory and its explicit subject matter. From debilitating anxiety spirals to heart-opening connections with the men and women she dates, Rachel puts her whole self on the line as she attempts to redefine what a relationship is—or could be.