Rachel in her own words: Rachel lives with her husband and children on the shores of Lake Michigan on what is the land of the Anishinaabe People. She cares for a garden with her community of friends and neighbors, a practice that allows her to tend to her love for land and connection with others. She is exploring the concept of liberation in relationships by challenging the narrative that any particular relationship needs to look a certain way in order to fit the cultural norm. Her own practice of polyamory has informed the ways she understands intimacy and how she works within that intimate container to build deep, vulnerable, compassionate, and brave relationships with others. She continues to prioritize the work of shifting the cultural narrative away from simplifying through labels and "othering," but to open to the realm of curiosity, openness, and complexity. To support her in this journey of cultivating relational liberation, Rachel uses the books and tools and practices offered by adrienne maree brown, bell hooks, and Resmaa Menakem. She is deeply grateful to all the folks who have done and are doing the work of re-thinking what it means to be in living, dynamic relationships with one another, as she finds herself standing on the shoulders of many brave souls in doing the work of co-creating new and liberated relationships.
“We get to co-create these relationships however we want to - and that is what society really doesn’t want you to believe.”
My conversation with Rachel was a poignant case study of what it means to embrace agency, authority, and action as a woman, and what it means to be brave. I’m really moved by her willingness to show up and be incredibly vulnerable and forthright about her journey from a conservative Christian upbringing to her own liberation as a woman, as a sexual being, and as a human seeking connection and community.
Rachel and I discussed:
Links mentioned in this episode:
Resmaa Menakem and My Grandmother’s Hands
bell hooks
Thomas Hübl
Open Marriage by Nena and George O’Neill
Learn more about consensual non-monogamy
Shout-outs:
Neurogan
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