Yellow Kite title asks readers to re-think infidelity

Yellow Kite has acquired a book by couples’ therapist Esther Perel asking readers to re-examine their prejudices and assumptions about infidelity.

In The State of Affairs, psychotherapist Perel will offer "a provocative look at relationships through the lens of infidelity", pairing real-life case stories with psychological and cultural analysis to document what leads couples to step outside of their marriages and provide "almost a handbook for avoiding, or at least understanding, the globally acknowledged 'infidelity trap'".

Questions the book will address include: "Why do people cheat—even those in happy marriages? Why does an affair hurt so much? When we say infidelity, what exactly do we mean? Do our romantic expectations of marriage set us up for betrayal? Is there such a thing as an affair-proof marriage? Is it possible to love more than one person at once? Can an affair ever help a marriage?"

According to Perel, "Love is messy; infidelity more so. But it is also a window, like no other, into the crevices of the human heart.” The author's TED talks have garnered more than 18 million views and her debut, Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence (Hodder), has been translated into 24 languages. The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity will be her second book.

Publisher Liz Gough bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Catherine Barbosa-Ross at HarperCollins in the US.  The book will publish in trade paperback and e-book on 19th October, priced £14.99.