Love: The Anatomy and Chemistry of a Phenomenon

Anyone who has been following my career knows that I’m a long-time fan of biological anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher, who has made her career of studying mating habits across cultures ’round the globe. In fact, right now I’m re-reading her book Anatomy of Love (fifteen years after reading it the first time), which has always held a privileged position on my book shelf. Her research on the evolution of sex, love, and marriage, as well as gender differences in the brain and how your personality type shapes who you are and who you love has informed my personal life and professional work significantly.

She has some nice pieces on boosting your level of optimism and hope in your dating life. I appreciate these essays because that’s one of the things I do as a dating coach/strategist — I encourage higher levels of hope and optimism in my clients. It’s not empty encouragement though. My clients and I do it together by building upon solid actions and reasons to bolster that aforementioned optimism!

Fisher also writes about laughter as an aphrodisiac, and I know many women have experienced that! Sharing a sense of humor not only makes your partner more appealing but creates a sort of glue of intimacy that bonds you together.

If you’re looking to expand your self-assigned blog reading, may I recommendhttp://blog.chemistry.com/ in addition, of course, to your regular visits to “Musings of the Maven!”