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OPEN

Rachel Krantz

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

Non-monogamy. Gaslighting. Bisexuality. Dom/sub relationships. The debut memoir from Bustle founding editor Rachel Krantz, OPEN is an unprecedented exploration of non-monogamy, as Krantz takes the taboo subject out from behind hidden doors and into the light by chronicling her first open relationship with unflinching candor.
When Rachel Krantz met and fell for Adam, he told her 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 coexist with the freedom to date other people. Could they strike an exquisite balance between intimacy and independence? For four years, Rachel Krantz recorded everything. As an award-winning journalist, she recognized that there was an amazing story unfolding in her own life, so she put her investigative skills to work, not only interrogating her own emotions but also interviewing scientists, psychologists, sex researchers, and real people living and loving outside the mainstream - all in an effort to understand what non-monogamy would do to her life. The result is a firecracker of a memoir. Open: An Uncensored Memoir of Love, Liberation, and Non-Monogamy Liberation, and Non-Monogamy is the first warts-and-all exploration of non-monogamy, groundbreaking in both its documentarian approach and its taboo subject matter. Part memoir, part how-t, and part cautionary tale, the book's unique mix psychosexual memoir and investigative journalism add up to a page-turner that reads like fiction. With stunning vulnerability and beautiful prose, Rachel puts her whole self on the line as she goes down the rabbit hole of non-monogamy. From the training grounds of Brooklyn's sex parties to the punk-sounding style of Relationship Anarchy, she searches for a relationship that answers her need for love and security alongside passion and possibility. Rachel Krantz is a journalist and one of the founding editors of Bustle, where she served as senior features editor for three years. Her work has been featured on NPR, The Guardian, Vox, Vice, and many other outlets. She's the recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Radio Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and the Peabody Award for her work as an investigative reporter.
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Published 2022-01-25 by Harmony

Comments

Don't look for easy answers in Rachel Krantz's thrilling meditation-cum-memoir in which the political gets very personal indeed. Seamlessly shifting from a critique of evolutionary biology to the first touch of his hand on her thigh, this polyamorous coming-of-age story crackles with equal parts erotic energy and searching commentary. A perfect guide to our new world, the only problem I had picking up this book was putting it back down. Compels, entertains, and may ultimately transform its readers.

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A smart, original, ambitious, and deeply absorbing memoir, in part because Krantz wants no less than to help us rethink the concepts of love, sex, and power as we know them. She succeeds by bringing us deftly and irresistibly into her most intimate pains and joys, stretching our understanding of what commitment and autonomy mean.

In her frank, evocative memoir, Rachel Krantz delves into a complicated past and looks long - and in blush-inducing detail - at the relationship that brought her into non-monogamy. This book searches for the truth and rejects easy answers. Open is a feat of tremendous candor and vulnerability, and to call it unputdownable would be an understatement.

A propulsive and fascinating look at sex, desire, and intimacy, Krantz investigates what we hope for from our romantic partners and how eschewing conventions might help us attain those things - and the pitfalls we might face if we choose a less traditional path. Krantz writes with insight and humor about her personal introduction to non-monogamy, using reportage to broaden the scope to others' experiences with trying to balance sexual and romantic freedom and commitment. A page-turner that explores the urgent question of what it means to try to understand and then to express our desires.

Krantz offers an unflinchingly honest account of the highs and lows of non-monogamous relationships, beautifully illustrating the ways that opening up one's relationship can offer tremendous freedom and painful imprisonment - sometimes at the same time. A necessary addition to the canon of intimate memoirs, one I desperately wish I'd had access to when I was coming of age. It's a must-read for anyone navigating sex, love, and dating in the twenty-first century.

UK: Octopus ; Brazil: Intrinseca ; Hebrew: Matar ; Russian: Eksmo ; Spanish: Planeta

Rachel's appearance just last week on ABC's The Tamron Hall Show. Read more...