Intimacy : understanding the subtle power of human connection / Ziyad Marar.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marar, Ziyad, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Intimacy (Psychology).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 228 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Durham : Acumen Publishing, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The hope for intimacy lies deep within us all. That moment of feeling uniquely understood, the antidote to isolation, is what gives us value, validation and self-belief. But as Ziyad Marar shows in this fascinating and engaging study, intimacy is a tricky business. The prevalence of social media, for example, is a sign of our desire for human connection, yet is a symptom of how little we truly achieve it. Often confused with love, intimacy is in many ways more important. Marar's investigation and celebration of this elusive but profound human experience shows how intimacy is central to a life well lived. But how do we spot the real thing? Marar helpfully identifies a key set of ingredients - reciprocity, conspiracy, heightened emotion, kindness - that when brought together enable the strongest experiences of intimacy. Without these four characteristics in the mix we are experiencing something less, or something else. Drawing on a wide range of sources - from key thinkers, as well as telling examples from familiar films and novels - Marar illustrates the subtlety and intricacies of intimacy and shows how closely it is bound up with notions of trust, control, risk and our own insecurities. Intimacy, argues Marar, is a necessary component of a fulfilled life. Yet we should not take for granted that we know what it is and how to get it. A better understanding of this powerful experience and the many barriers to achieving it may just help us to brave the search for it. For anyone bold enough to do so, which should be all of us, Intimacy is required reading.

Contents:

1. Only Connect

2. Translating Intimacy

3. The Kiss

pt. 1. Intimacy Through Four Lenses

4. It Takes Two

5. A Conspiracy

6. Unruly Emotion

7. A Complicated Kindness

pt. 2. Barriers to Intimacy

8. Insecurities

9. Solipsism and Imaginative Failures

10. Wishful Thinking

11. Cultures and Contexts

pt. 3. Finding Intimacy

12. Learning from Literature

13. In Good Faith.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on metadata supplied by the publisher and other sources.

ISBN:

1-317-54581-8

1-315-72940-7

1-84465-822-8

1-317-54582-6

1-84465-528-8

9781315729404

OCLC:

890531391