AJ’s Reviews > All About Love: New Visions > Status Update

Chapter 9: Mutuality — The Heart of Love is another good chapter. I wish I could make my parents generation read it. I do think Bell Hooks suffers a little from a lack of definition around what forgiveness must look like to then allow more love in the world. I don't like the blind idea of "learn to forgive in order to learn how to love." Perhaps more accurately is to learn how to understand.

Chapter 8: Community — Loving Communion is a beautiful pairing to chapter 7. Again, I find myself wishing for a lot more depth in this book, and I'd especially enjoy a chapter exploring the way we perceive romantic relationships as priority over others.

Chapter Four: Commitment — Let Love be Love in me has been my favourite so far. Once again, I am learning nothing new, but this book is burning in me a desire to take true action over my life. And it's true that self love cannot be found alone — just as is taught in this chapter, my best friend Bex taught me the value of sanctuary, & my best friend Sadie taught me the role of work in self love

Chapter Three: Honesty - Be True to Love was a real eyeopener. Again, not learning anything new but the way in which things are being framed really allows space for personal reflection. Lying as a patriarchal tool particularly in absence of financial domination is not something I've been conscious of, only in bits and pieces. I resonate with the idea that trying to avoid conflict is preventing my reception of love

Chapter Two: Justice — Childhood Love Lessons was good. Whilst it didn't necessarily teach me anything new or bring in a perspective I had not considered prior, it did offer a great structural framework to continue to mediate about how we treat children in society.

I want to track how I'm reacting to this book as I read it, so I'm going to try review this every chapter or two. I've just finished chapter two (clarity: words about love) and it has already impacted me deeply. Learning about cathexis and differentiating it from love really helps to shift perspective on how to receive love as somebody who struggles to remember that my loved ones actually love me.