23/10/2026
📚 From My Bookcase | Us – Terry Real
One of the ideas I find particularly powerful in this book is how deeply our culture values individualism and independence, and how this can influence the way we show up in our relationships.
Terry Real explores how patriarchal values and the idea of being self-sufficient can create an imbalance within couples, where one person's needs, feelings or perspective can become more important than the other's.
We can find ourselves approaching our relationships from a position of 'me versus you', rather than 'us'.
But healthy relationships aren't about never needing anyone. They're about recognising that it's normal, and actually healthy, to rely on and depend upon one another.
We can be independent individuals and still need each other.
Something I often explore in my couples work is how we move away from defensiveness, blame or the need to be right, and towards curiosity, fairness, kindness and a sense of shared responsibility.
This doesn't mean abandoning our own needs or always putting our partner first. It means recognising that both people's experiences matter, and that we're on the same team.
I particularly appreciate how this book challenges some of the beliefs we've absorbed about what strength and independence should look like.
Sometimes the most powerful shift in a relationship is moving from 'How do I get you to understand me?' to 'How can we understand each other?'
💭 Connection isn't the opposite of independence. We can have both.