Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
By: Mimi Zhu
4.12
Format: 256 pages, Paperback
“Radical and revolutionary.” —Jonny Sun, New York Times bestselling author of Goodbye, Again A col…
Want to Read $ 10.99"Anger, like numbness, is another sacred protector of our survival. It is a loving act to protect yourself, a loving at to resist harm, and a loving act to allow yourself the sacred breath of anger."-Mimi Zhu, Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
"I have tried to return to an "untainted" version of myself, one that was oblivious to the visceral natures of pain and loss. I obsess over an imagined place of "purity", where the ghosts of my past do not roam, and I realize that as vital as it is to release my hauntings, I cannot return to a self who is untouched by pain. I do not live in a world without pain, and I cannot pretend that pain does not continue as I continue too."-Mimi Zhu, Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
"The excuses became an armor that pushed away he pain, but painful feelings do not relent even when faced with brute force. They linger in the ether and visit you, whether you are ready or not to confront them. Denial masquerades as an accomplice to the expansiveness of numbness, but in fact it endeavors to break us into shards of our truth. By drawing enemy lines, denial is a refusal of our entireties. Denial is fragmentation; denial is desperate prayer."-Mimi Zhu, Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
If you liked the essays plot in Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection by Mimi Zhu , here is a list of 8 books like this:
1. All About Love: New Visions
By: bell hooks
4.05
Format: 240 pages, Hardcover
All About Love offers radical new ways to think about love by showing its interconnectedness in our… read more
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- relationships
- love
- feminism
- psychology
- nonfiction
- essays
- self help
"All awakening to love is spiritual awakening"-bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions
"Couples who rarely or never have sex can know lifelong love. "-bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions
"Honesty and openness is always the foundation of insightful dialogue."-bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions
"Isolation and loneliness are central causes of depression and despair."-bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions
2. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches
By: Audre Lorde
3.63
Format: 416 pages, Paperback
A collection of fifteen essays written between 1976 and 1984 gives clear voice to Audre Lorde's lit… read more
Want to ReadSimilar categories in Audre Lorde's Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- feminism
- nonfiction
- essays
- queer
3. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
By: bell hooks
3.90
Format: 256 pages, Paperback
Everyone needs to love and be loved -- even men. But to know love, men must be able to look at the … read more
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4. Communion: The Female Search for Love
By: bell hooks
3.50
Format: None pages, Paperback
Renowned visionary and theorist bell hooks began her exploration of the meaning of love in American… read more
Want to ReadSimilar categories in bell hooks's Communion: The Female Search for Love book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
5. Bliss Montage
By: Ling Ma
3.91
Format: 228 pages, Hardcover
A new creation by the author of Severance, the stories in Bliss Montage crash through our carefully… read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Ling Ma's Bliss Montage book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
"To live is to exist within time. To remember is to negate time."-Ling Ma, Bliss Montage
"It doesn't take much to come into your own; all it takes is someone's gaze."-Ling Ma, Bliss Montage
"Maybe you don't know that you're wounded until you receive the salve. The salve that makes everything come back."-Ling Ma, Bliss Montage
"It was a time when the future could have been anything, been anywhere. It was so open that it could actually crush her."-Ling Ma, Bliss Montage
6. Earth Angel
By: Madeline Cash
4.05
Format: 130 pages, Paperback
In her electric debut, Madeline Cash synthesizes the godlessness of a digital age into a glimmering… read more
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7. What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma
By: Stephanie Foo
4.52
Format: 352 pages, Hardcover
A searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, investigating the… read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in Stephanie Foo's What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- memoir
- psychology
- mental health
- nonfiction
- self help
8. Stay True
By: Hua Hsu
4.03
Format: 208 pages, Hardcover
From the New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu, a gripping memoir on friendship, grief, the search for se… read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in Hua Hsu's Stay True book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- nonfiction
- memoir
"My parents are great, I said. Unbelievably non-stereotypical."-Hua Hsu, Stay True
"The first generation thinks about survival; the ones that follow tell the stories."-Hua Hsu, Stay True
"You were describing people we had not yet met, maybe people we ourselves would become."-Hua Hsu, Stay True
"It was a sign of personal growth, I thought to myself, that I could be friends with someone who liked Pearl Jam this much."-Hua Hsu, Stay True
9. Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls
By: Kai Cheng Thom
4.18
Format: 176 pages, Paperback
What happens when we imagine loving the people--and the parts of ourselves--that we do not believe … read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in Kai Cheng Thom's Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- memoir
- queer
- nonfiction
- essays
- self help
"i have questions about heaven. i have questions about the Revolution. those questions are the same: upon whose bones do you intend to build your paradise?"-Kai Cheng Thom, Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls
"you don't need to heal others to heal yourself, you can just heal yourself. you do not need to give love to others to love yourself, you can just love yourself."-Kai Cheng Thom, Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls
"find the lie in your heart. the one you tell to yourself and all the world, sometimes without even knowing it. pare that lie down to its barest core, strip back the skin, and behold the truth: i am w…"-Kai Cheng Thom, Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls
10. Hijab Butch Blues
By: Lamya H.
4.48
Format: 284 pages, Hardcover
A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from storie… read more
Want to Read $ 14.99Similar categories in Lamya H.'s Hijab Butch Blues book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- feminism
- nonfiction
- memoir
- queer
"Sort of?"-Lamya H., Hijab Butch Blues
"Queer indispensability?"-Lamya H., Hijab Butch Blues
"I feel tired. Or reckless. Or maybe brave."-Lamya H., Hijab Butch Blues
"I want to figure her out, this girl, and I want to know everything about her."-Lamya H., Hijab Butch Blues
11. Down the Drain
By: Julia Fox
4.40
Format: 318 pages, Hardcover
Julia Fox is famous for many her captivating acting, such as her breakout role in the film Uncut G… read more
Want to Read $ 14.99Similar categories in Julia Fox's Down the Drain book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- feminism
- nonfiction
- memoir
"I want to love him but I often find myself wishing he could just be an asshole all the time. This way I wouldn't have all these inner battles with myself. I learn to navigate my way through shattered…"-Julia Fox, Down the Drain
12. Radical Intimacy
By: Sophie K. Rosa
4.23
Format: 208 pages, Paperback
An impassioned discussion about the alternative ways to form relationships and resist capitalism. … read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Sophie K. Rosa's Radical Intimacy book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- relationships
- love
- feminism
- nonfiction
- essays
- queer
13. trans girl suicide museum
By: Hannah Baer
4.48
Format: 144 pages, Paperback
Literary Nonfiction. LGBTQIA Studies. Edited by Clare Kelly. one part ketamine spiral, one part con… read more
Want to ReadSimilar categories in Hannah Baer's trans girl suicide museum book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- nonfiction
- memoir
- essays
- queer
"Another thing about K is it feels so connected to the internet."-Hannah Baer, trans girl suicide museum
14. Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
By: Mimi Zhu
4.12
Format: 256 pages, Paperback
“Radical and revolutionary.” —Jonny Sun, New York Times bestselling author of Goodbye, Again A col… read more
Want to Read $ 10.99Similar categories in Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- relationships
- self help
- love
- memoir
- feminism
- psychology
- mental health
- nonfiction
- essays
- queer
"Anger, like numbness, is another sacred protector of our survival. It is a loving act to protect yourself, a loving at to resist harm, and a loving act to allow yourself the sacred breath of anger."-Mimi Zhu, Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
"I have tried to return to an "untainted" version of myself, one that was oblivious to the visceral natures of pain and loss. I obsess over an imagined place of "purity", where the ghosts of my past d…"-Mimi Zhu, Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
"The excuses became an armor that pushed away he pain, but painful feelings do not relent even when faced with brute force. They linger in the ether and visit you, whether you are ready or not to conf…"-Mimi Zhu, Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
15. Notes on Shapeshifting
By: Gabi Abrão
3.94
Format: 80 pages, Paperback
Abrāo’s work has been described by The Outline as “an existential funhouse of familiar thoughts” th… read more
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- nonfiction
- self help
"A new crush enters like an angel."-Gabi Abrão, Notes on Shapeshifting
16. Wanting: Women Writing About Desire
By: Margot Kahn
3.95
Format: 352 pages, Paperback
An intimate and empowering anthology of essays that explore the changing face of female desire in w… read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in Margot Kahn's Wanting: Women Writing About Desire book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- memoir
- feminism
- psychology
- nonfiction
- essays
17. Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire
By: Alice Wong
4.30
Format: 384 pages, Paperback
The much-anticipated follow up to the groundbreaking anthology Disability Visibility: another revol… read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in Alice Wong's Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- nonfiction
- memoir
- essays
- mental health
18. Survival Takes a Wild Imagination: Poems
By: Fariha Róisín
3.77
Format: 120 pages, Paperback
In the powerful follow up to her critically acclaimed debut collection, poet and activist Fariha Ró… read more
Want to Read $ 8.49Similar categories in Fariha Róisín's Survival Takes a Wild Imagination: Poems book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- nonfiction
- memoir
- queer
"Forgiveness is holding the multiplicity."-Fariha Róisín, Survival Takes a Wild Imagination: Poems
"The natural world meets me where humans cannot."-Fariha Róisín, Survival Takes a Wild Imagination: Poems
"Herodotus knew to tell a story, you had to respect it first."-Fariha Róisín, Survival Takes a Wild Imagination: Poems
"Nothing rings truer than blazing through the bright white streak of eucalyptus fire we decided to call life."-Fariha Róisín, Survival Takes a Wild Imagination: Poems
19. Who Is Wellness For?: An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind
By: Fariha Róisín
3.66
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
The multi-disciplinary artist and author of Like a Bird and How to Cure a Ghost explores the commod… read more
Want to Read $ 18.99Similar categories in Fariha Róisín's Who Is Wellness For?: An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- memoir
- psychology
- mental health
- nonfiction
- self help
"I think her precocious intellectual development is what happens to bright and sensitive kids when the emotional environment isn't able to hold them. They develop this very powerful intellect that hol…"-Fariha Róisín, Who Is Wellness For?: An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind
"I have a lot of grief over being robbed of my early life and so I have a lot of anger towards people who have had good childhoods, it’s a privilege. I’m not sure why we don’t understand this. Especia…"-Fariha Róisín, Who Is Wellness For?: An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind
20. Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans
By: Jenny Wang
4.46
Format: 288 pages, Hardcover
Asian Americans are experiencing a racial reckoning regarding their identity, inspiring them to rad… read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in Jenny Wang's Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- self help
- nonfiction
- psychology
- mental health
"When someone becomes angry with you, it is not your job to make them feel better; it is their job to learn skills to hold space for that anger and make themselves feel better. It is also their respon…"-Jenny Wang, Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans
21. How to Love Someone Without Losing Your Mind: Forget the Fairy Tale and Get Real
By: Todd Baratz
4.22
Format: 272 pages, Hardcover
A brutally honest guide that cuts through the bullsh*t and sky-high expectations of modern love to … read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in Todd Baratz's How to Love Someone Without Losing Your Mind: Forget the Fairy Tale and Get Real book and Mimi Zhu's Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection
- relationships
- love
- psychology
- mental health
- nonfiction
- self help
