Why do we assume romantic relationships are more important than friendships? What do we lose when we expect a spouse to meet all our needs? And what can we learn about commitment, love, and family from people who put deep friendship at the center of their lives? In The Other Significant Others, NPR's Rhaina Cohen invites us into the lives of people - spanning age and religion, gender and sexuality and more - who have defied convention by choosing a friend as a life partner. Their riveting stories unsettle widespread assumptions about relationships and reveal how freeing and challenging it can be to embrace a relationship model that society doesn't recognise. And they show that orienting your world around friends isn't limited to daydreams and episodes of The Golden Girls, but actually possible in real life. Based on years of original reporting and striking social science research, Cohen argues that we undermine romantic relationships by expecting too much of them, while we diminish friendships by expecting too little of them. At a time when many Americans are spending large stretches of their lives single, widowed or divorced, or feeling the effects of the 'loneliness epidemic,' The Other Significant Others challenges us to ask what we want from our relationships - not just what we're supposed to want - and transforms how we define a fulfilling life.

A powerful narrative on platonic partnerships and how the thrill, intimacy, and commitment we seek is often found through meaningful friendship.

About the Author
RHAINA COHEN is an award-winning producer and editor for NPR's signature narrative podcast, Embedded. Her work, often focused on human behavior, has aired on numerous podcasts and radio shows, including Hidden Brain, Invisibilia, Planet Money and All Things Considered, and her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New Republic and elsewhere. Cohen lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, friends, and her friends' children.


Book Information
ISBN 9781250280916
Author Rhaina Cohen
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint St Martin's Press
Publisher St Martin's Press
Weight(grams) 394g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 146mm * 30mm