Esther Perel

But you also value to come to a place where people rarely ask you necessarily, when I came, and what have you done and who is your family and what's your idea, what do you want to do here? And then you either have people who look at your CV and you don't fit and they say we can't.

Or you see people and say, this girl, she has some ideas and she has some energy and ambition and we'll let her try something. This is not what you get in Europe. In Europe, we tried this and it didn't really work. And that may take a long time. And there's a lot of red tape. Because tradition and history are so valued, change and innovation and novelty is not necessarily instantly welcome.

Or you see people and say, this girl, she has some ideas and she has some energy and ambition and we'll let her try something. This is not what you get in Europe. In Europe, we tried this and it didn't really work. And that may take a long time. And there's a lot of red tape. Because tradition and history are so valued, change and innovation and novelty is not necessarily instantly welcome.

Here, it's the reverse. So when you come here as a 20-something-year-old and you have ideas and energy and you want to do things, it's incredible. I mean, I came to New York and I got a tremendous amount of money to make a documentary and to do a project on the relationship between blacks and Jews.

Here, it's the reverse. So when you come here as a 20-something-year-old and you have ideas and energy and you want to do things, it's incredible. I mean, I came to New York and I got a tremendous amount of money to make a documentary and to do a project on the relationship between blacks and Jews.

Yes, the psychodynamics of black Jewish tensions.

Yes, the psychodynamics of black Jewish tensions.

We're talking 84. This is the year I was born.

We're talking 84. This is the year I was born.

Yeah, that's you and me.

Yeah, that's you and me.

So I had trained in psychology and I was very interested in cultural transition.

So I had trained in psychology and I was very interested in cultural transition.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And particularly in couples and families who are in cultural transition. And that included people who move, who immigrate, either voluntarily or forced migration.

And particularly in couples and families who are in cultural transition. And that included people who move, who immigrate, either voluntarily or forced migration.

And internationals, but also in the middle, mixed couples, mixed families, interracial, interreligious, intercultural families and relationships. Interracial, interreligious and intercultural.

And internationals, but also in the middle, mixed couples, mixed families, interracial, interreligious, intercultural families and relationships. Interracial, interreligious and intercultural.

That really was the bulk of my work the first 20 years.