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Missionary Position: A Slightly Irreverent Guide to Sex after Purity Culture
What if your sexual story didn’t start with shame—but with you?
For many women raised in purity culture, sex was a subject of silence, shame, or fear. You were taught to deny your desires, disconnect from your body, and wait for permission to embrace pleasure—if it ever came at all.
Missionary Position by Celeste Holbrook, Ph.D., is your permission slip to rewrite the script.
Part memoir, part manifesto, and part practical guide, this bold and irreverent book invites you to heal from harmful teachings, explore your desires, and reclaim your sexual agency. With vulnerability, humor, and deep wisdom, Holbrook introduces the concept of inner missionaries—powerful personas like the Analyst, the Healer, and the Explorer—who will help guide you back to yourself.
Whether you’re navigating painful sex, deconstructing religious beliefs, or just trying to figure out what you actually want in bed, Missionary Position gives you tools, insight, and reflection exercises to move from confusion to clarity—and from silence to satisfaction.
IN MISSIONARY POSITION, YOU WILL DISCOVER HOW
Identify and heal from purity culture’s toxic messagingReconnect with your body and explore pleasure on your own termsEmbrace your personal sexual ethicsDevelop a healthy, shame-free sexual exploration practiceLet go of the guilt, fear, and baggage—and step into your full, radiant selfWith stories that will make you laugh, cry, and feel seen, Missionary Position is more than a book—it’s a revolution of self-acceptance and sexual liberation. Dr. Celeste Holbrook is the sex educator you wish you had all along, guiding you with compassion, clarity, and a wink of sass.
It’s time to stop waiting for good sex to be gifted to you—and start creating it for yourself.
For many women raised in purity culture, sex was a subject of silence, shame, or fear. You were taught to deny your desires, disconnect from your body, and wait for permission to embrace pleasure—if it ever came at all.
Missionary Position by Celeste Holbrook, Ph.D., is your permission slip to rewrite the script.
Part memoir, part manifesto, and part practical guide, this bold and irreverent book invites you to heal from harmful teachings, explore your desires, and reclaim your sexual agency. With vulnerability, humor, and deep wisdom, Holbrook introduces the concept of inner missionaries—powerful personas like the Analyst, the Healer, and the Explorer—who will help guide you back to yourself.
Whether you’re navigating painful sex, deconstructing religious beliefs, or just trying to figure out what you actually want in bed, Missionary Position gives you tools, insight, and reflection exercises to move from confusion to clarity—and from silence to satisfaction.
IN MISSIONARY POSITION, YOU WILL DISCOVER HOW
Identify and heal from purity culture’s toxic messagingReconnect with your body and explore pleasure on your own termsEmbrace your personal sexual ethicsDevelop a healthy, shame-free sexual exploration practiceLet go of the guilt, fear, and baggage—and step into your full, radiant selfWith stories that will make you laugh, cry, and feel seen, Missionary Position is more than a book—it’s a revolution of self-acceptance and sexual liberation. Dr. Celeste Holbrook is the sex educator you wish you had all along, guiding you with compassion, clarity, and a wink of sass.
It’s time to stop waiting for good sex to be gifted to you—and start creating it for yourself.
185 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 16, 2025
Great read for anyone who grew up in a conservative religious environment. This book offers great tips, resources, and activities, as well as a bit of humor and a lot of compassion.
July 20, 2025
Having been raised Mormon, this book is something I wish I had so many years ago! I love her candor and practical advice. Each section has questions for the reader to work through, ideas for discussions with partners, and encouragement to do things at your pace and in your way. It’s written in a way that is approachable for folks just starting their personal journey after purity culture or as a refresher/supplement for those with more experience.
October 16, 2025
Empowering
I wish I would have read this book at age 15, instead of 75. It is a good start for having fresh eyes to understand my sexuality. Sometimes it was hard to relive some "missed" moments, but I will move forward with much greater confidence in who I am. Thank you for writing this book!
I wish I would have read this book at age 15, instead of 75. It is a good start for having fresh eyes to understand my sexuality. Sometimes it was hard to relive some "missed" moments, but I will move forward with much greater confidence in who I am. Thank you for writing this book!
August 8, 2025
I ate this book up!
I loved that the author let painful sex propel her toward exploring sexual pleasure in so many new ways. She talks forthrightly about masturbation, sex toys, and oral sex. She expands the definition of sex to include forms of touch that can be pleasurable and/or sexual, and challenges the narrow definition of sex as vaginal penetration. The chapter about pornography normalizes human attraction to sexual pleasure while also pointing in the direction of more ethical, humanizing (instead of dehumanizing) pornography. Holbrook’s overarching principles help guide the reader toward forming healthier sexual ethics. Highly recommend for people harmed by purity culture, or who struggle to experience sexual pleasure, those who struggle with sexual shame, and those open to simply learning and challenging traditional ideas about sex!
I loved that the author let painful sex propel her toward exploring sexual pleasure in so many new ways. She talks forthrightly about masturbation, sex toys, and oral sex. She expands the definition of sex to include forms of touch that can be pleasurable and/or sexual, and challenges the narrow definition of sex as vaginal penetration. The chapter about pornography normalizes human attraction to sexual pleasure while also pointing in the direction of more ethical, humanizing (instead of dehumanizing) pornography. Holbrook’s overarching principles help guide the reader toward forming healthier sexual ethics. Highly recommend for people harmed by purity culture, or who struggle to experience sexual pleasure, those who struggle with sexual shame, and those open to simply learning and challenging traditional ideas about sex!
August 2, 2025
Cathartic
April 13, 2026
Celeste offers a thoughtful, nuanced, and much-needed contribution to our current conversations around sexuality after purity culture.
She skillfully navigates the complex spectrum between rigid, shame-based messaging and more exploitative cultural narratives, offering a grounded and balanced framework for readers seeking clarity, agency, and self-trust. The book emphasizes core themes of consent, embodied awareness, and values-aligned decision-making in a way that feels both accessible and deeply respectful.
For readers who may have been shielded from or lacked comprehensive education around sexuality, this text does an excellent job introducing topics in a way that is informative without being overwhelming or anxiety-provoking. Importantly, it does not replicate or promote exploitative messaging; instead, it centers informed consent, personal agency, and thoughtful engagement with one’s own values.
From a clinical perspective, I especially appreciated the parts-based lens woven throughout, which invites curiosity and reduces shame. This approach will feel particularly resonant for individuals unpacking layered beliefs about their bodies, desire, and worth.
What sets this book apart is its tone, having had the gift of working with Celeste one on one years ago, this text is a true representation of her personality - full of nurturing warmth and empowering humor throughout, bringing levity to a subject that can often feel heavy or intimidating.
I highly recommend this book for individuals and professionals supporting those healing from shame-based sexual frameworks. It is a compassionate, practical resource that fills an important gap.
She skillfully navigates the complex spectrum between rigid, shame-based messaging and more exploitative cultural narratives, offering a grounded and balanced framework for readers seeking clarity, agency, and self-trust. The book emphasizes core themes of consent, embodied awareness, and values-aligned decision-making in a way that feels both accessible and deeply respectful.
For readers who may have been shielded from or lacked comprehensive education around sexuality, this text does an excellent job introducing topics in a way that is informative without being overwhelming or anxiety-provoking. Importantly, it does not replicate or promote exploitative messaging; instead, it centers informed consent, personal agency, and thoughtful engagement with one’s own values.
From a clinical perspective, I especially appreciated the parts-based lens woven throughout, which invites curiosity and reduces shame. This approach will feel particularly resonant for individuals unpacking layered beliefs about their bodies, desire, and worth.
What sets this book apart is its tone, having had the gift of working with Celeste one on one years ago, this text is a true representation of her personality - full of nurturing warmth and empowering humor throughout, bringing levity to a subject that can often feel heavy or intimidating.
I highly recommend this book for individuals and professionals supporting those healing from shame-based sexual frameworks. It is a compassionate, practical resource that fills an important gap.
August 1, 2025
Celeste is your best friend on a girls' trip who changes your life with amazing advice about sex. Her examples make abstract concepts concrete and memorable. And the "activities" (read: exercises for you to journal about or explore on your own) are FIRE.
This book is the perfect combination of information, practical advice, and hilarious stories. I have so many highlighted passages in my copy of the book--so many statements that made me feel understood. Plus Celeste's description of the 69 position as "giving late-stage capitalism in position form" made me snort laugh.
If you ever awkwardly lusted to hold hands in a church basement youth group in the 1990's, you NEED this book. And if you didn't, you'll probably enjoy it too.
This book is the perfect combination of information, practical advice, and hilarious stories. I have so many highlighted passages in my copy of the book--so many statements that made me feel understood. Plus Celeste's description of the 69 position as "giving late-stage capitalism in position form" made me snort laugh.
If you ever awkwardly lusted to hold hands in a church basement youth group in the 1990's, you NEED this book. And if you didn't, you'll probably enjoy it too.
September 8, 2025
Celeste was a guest on the Jen Hatmaker cruise and shared our trials and tribulations to get this published. This is a great read for any age, to clarify and help distill a women’s struggle with some of the basic beliefs that we may have started life with regarding sex and their bodies. I discussed with a friend this evening who has a now teen daughter with body image issues and while some of this book may be better reserved for someone with a bit more life history, I also think this will resonate with young readers too, that are at the start of their journey. Nice job Celeste.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews