Review by tirshavira - Conversations on Love

hopeful inspiring reflective

5.0

Feels after reads:

I LOVEEEE ITTT!!! *chef's kiss* *standing applause*
Special thanks to @bookstrissa on IG (I randomly stumbled upon her review about this book & got hooked since then).
Can I just stabilo the entire book??? too many insightful & relatable quotes :')
A perfect page-turner ; I finished the 1st chapter of this book only in 2 hours & the entire book in 2 weeks.
Very diverse topics ; romantic relationship, parent-child relationship, siblings relationship, friendship, and even relationship with own self.
Engaging combination of interview transcript with personal experiences ; there's always a "what I learn" paragraph after every interviewees' section, which adds more feelings in it.
Each chapter has its own mood ; starts from "how do we find love?", which I found heartwarming, "how do we sustain love?", which I found inspiring, "how can we survive losing love?", which is actually the toughest part to read but I found it relieving, and all wrapped up thoughtfully in the last chapter, "what I wish I'd known about love".

Key Takeaways:

Continuity of love ; "Love is a lifelong project & continual process of looking inwards (to ourselves) & outwards (to people & life we are living)."
The work of re-seeing as a way to sustain love ; "To stay conscious, curious, and re-see people we love, because we always work in progress."
Combination of growth that can concurrently happen in a relationship ; Self-growth & growing together.
Appreciate to love ; "Romance is about finding ways to show someone they are appreciated."
Interdependence in a relationship ; "To not lean wholly on them, but to stand beside them."
Admitting pain as a step to heal ; Not to make it as a competition of "who suffers the most." Instead, making it as a way to connect deeply with people & be kind to one another.