Mating in Captivity examines the tension between emotional security, domestic life, and erotic desire in long-term relationships. Drawing on Esther Perel's clinical experience as a psychotherapist, the book explores why sexual desire may diminish even in loving relationships and discusses ways couples can maintain intimacy, passion, curiosity, and erotic connection. The twentieth-anniversary edition includes a new preface in which Perel reflects on the origins of the book and cultural changes since its original publication.

Iconic couples therapist Esther Perel returns with a provocative look at relationships through the lens of infidelity. An affair: it can rob a couple of their relationship, their happiness, their very identity. Adultery has existed since marriage was invented, and so too have the prohibitions against it - in fact, adultery has a tenacity that marriage can only envy. And yet, this extremely common human experience is so poorly understood. What are we to make of this tim-honoured taboo - universally forbidden yet universally practised? Why do people cheat? When we say 'infidelity', what exactly do we mean? Is ther such a thing as an affair-proof marriage? Is it possible to love more than one person at once? Can an affair ever help a marriage? Psychotherapist Esther Perel is recognized as one of the most insightful andoriginal voices on modern love. For the past ten years, she has worked with hundreds of couples who have grappled with infidelity. Weaving real-life stories with incisive psychological and cultural analysis, Perel invites readers into a truly revealing exploration of modern relationships.