Episode Summary
Let's talk about affairs! Dig into Stacey Swann's messy family novel and get a professional perspective from sex therapist Dr. Jennifer Vencill. Our guests push back on some of the common ideas about what infidelity is, what it means to stay after infidelity, and what type of person becomes "the other woman."
Episode Notes
We talked with:
- Stacey Swann holds an MFA from Texas State University and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Her fiction has appeared in multiple journals, and she is a Contributing Editor of American Short Fiction. Her first novel "Olympus, Texas" has received critical acclaim.
- Jennifer Vencill, Ph.D., L.P., is an assistant professor, board certified clinical health psychologist and AASECT certified sex therapist. Dr. Vencill spends the bulk of her time providing integrated sexual health care in the Menopause and Women's Sexual Health Clinic. She's currently working on her first popular press book, a guide for managing sexual desire discrepancies in relationships — to be published in summer 2023!
We talked about:
In this episode, Dr. Millstine and her guests discuss:
- Infidelity is a health issue. Infidelity is a common experience that can greatly affect interpersonal and intimate relationships — and by extension, your mental health — with collateral damage for kids, friends and communities.
- The definition of infidelity is personal. "Cheating" means different things to different people. A lot depends on what you've agreed to in your relationship … or what you assume your partner has agreed to.
- Judge not. This novel brings the complexities of affairs to life. People may not cheat (or be "the other woman" or stay with a cheating partner) for the reasons that you think. We discuss some of the characters who don't fit the mold.
This concludes Season One. To sign up for emails with more information about future releases and other women's health content, click here.
Can't get enough?
- Purchase "Olympus, Texas."
- Pre-order Dr. Vencill's book: "Desire: An Inclusive Guide to Navigating Libido Differences in Relationships."
- Want to read more on the topic? Check out our blog:
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