Author(s): WEBER Zita

Psychology & the Mind

Dr Zita Weber sets out to tell the true-life stories of women who take on lovers, who stray to another sexual relationship. A total of 12 'brave' women tell their stories. Their candid comments about an area of life considered personal and private explore the dynamics involved when a married woman defies expectations-and takes on a lover. Their principal motivation in telling their stories was to demystify this whole area of sexuality and to dispel myths about who has affairs and why. They wanted to share their stories with a wider audience in the hope that greater understanding will lead to even greater acceptance of alternate forms of sexuality and relationships. From cyber love, to no-sex affairs, bondage affairs and mentoring lovers, these women have challenged an ideal and moved into a heady, often compelling, sometimes demanding, if not dangerous, liaison. They have chosen to live parallel lives and in this book share their stories. They have a lot in common, yet there are distinct differences in the telling of each one's unique story. These women all came to me through word of mouth and are by no means representative of all women. They are, however, a small sample of women who are willing to speak out and as such do represent women who have had affairs. In matters of sex and sexuality, it's difficult to be scientific in pursuit of absolute representation. Ultimately, we only know the stories of those women who are prepared to step forward and say, 'This is my story'.