Esther Perel

And I accompanied my dad to the manufacturers to pick up the merchandise and the collections. And I went with my brother to Paris all the time to get the merchandise and to look at the fashion shows. So I kind of grew up in a fashion business, in a clothing business. And there was a tremendous amount of attention. But I also sat in the store and watched my mother sell.

Because the stores were open till 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock at night. And my mother worked in the store. Was that common back then? Yes, yes. Yes, yes. Every day till 8 and Friday and Saturday till 9.

Because the stores were open till 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock at night. And my mother worked in the store. Was that common back then? Yes, yes. Yes, yes. Every day till 8 and Friday and Saturday till 9.

Wow.

Wow.

So if I wanted to see my mom, I had to be in the store. I sat on the chair and I watched her sell, dress people, tell stories. People told their whole life story. You know, I went with my dad to bring suits to people who were dead, you know, and families who were mourning before they were going to the burials and the cemeteries. And I mean, I really learned about life through clothes, basically.

So if I wanted to see my mom, I had to be in the store. I sat on the chair and I watched her sell, dress people, tell stories. People told their whole life story. You know, I went with my dad to bring suits to people who were dead, you know, and families who were mourning before they were going to the burials and the cemeteries. And I mean, I really learned about life through clothes, basically.

And I'm the only one in the family that didn't enter the business, the family shop.

And I'm the only one in the family that didn't enter the business, the family shop.

I just, we lived above the store and I just thought we never get rid of this thing. It's with us at every meal. It's all you talk about when you have a family shop, you know, anyone who's a family. And I just thought, I want a profession I can carry on my back. I want a profession that I can travel with and I can, you know, do it.

I just, we lived above the store and I just thought we never get rid of this thing. It's with us at every meal. It's all you talk about when you have a family shop, you know, anyone who's a family. And I just thought, I want a profession I can carry on my back. I want a profession that I can travel with and I can, you know, do it.

You wanted the store to live above you. Yes, yes.

You wanted the store to live above you. Yes, yes.

And I can do it anywhere I go. The thought of being tattered like that to this place. Of course, then I had an office and a private practice. So it wasn't, you know, until, you know, Skype started. But that was the main idea. I remember saying to my parents, I said, I want a profession that I can carry on my back.

And I can do it anywhere I go. The thought of being tattered like that to this place. Of course, then I had an office and a private practice. So it wasn't, you know, until, you know, Skype started. But that was the main idea. I remember saying to my parents, I said, I want a profession that I can carry on my back.

And for those who don't know... It has its 20th anniversary next year.

And for those who don't know... It has its 20th anniversary next year.

Yes, the importance of friction. That is definitely a piece I talk about. But if you want to go back for a moment, so... I had been a couples therapist for quite a while when I wrote Mating in Captivity. I just had not focused on sexuality and the cultural story that supports our expectations around sexuality, around desire, around eroticism in long-term relationships. And

Yes, the importance of friction. That is definitely a piece I talk about. But if you want to go back for a moment, so... I had been a couples therapist for quite a while when I wrote Mating in Captivity. I just had not focused on sexuality and the cultural story that supports our expectations around sexuality, around desire, around eroticism in long-term relationships. And

I took a kind of a side road and I just thought, I want to explore this because I had been trained in certain ways to think about sexuality in relationships. And I just thought, is that really true? I mean, is that the way it works? Because that's not what I see in my office, and I don't think it's what other colleagues see in their office.