I give Slow Love five stars for its ability to encourage healing in the areas of love and sexuality. Several years ago I put "thaw this frozen heart" on my to-do list next to items like "finish taxes" and "get a salad spinner." I was never able to remove the most important item from my list because I just didn't know how to go about defrosting my solid core, which usually felt sad whenever I even contemplated the idea of romance. But fortunately I was able to listen my heart, which ultimately led me to read this book, perhaps because it resonates with the intelligence of both the mind and the heart.
Powell writes largely from a meditative state of consciousness, in a friendly but professional manner. That's part of the reason that even someone like me (I've been living a monk-like existence for several years now, avoiding the insanity and hyperactivity of modern sexual relationships) can benefit from this book. One of the many nice experiences that I had from reflecting on this book was actually laughing about a memory that, until recently, felt like a wound. My perception of myself shifted from that of a victim to that of someone who simply lacked awareness.
Slow Love should be required reading for anyone who has suffered from the influence of Western ideas regarding sexuality. Most Westerners know, consciously or unconsciously, that there's something very wrong or missing from conventional sexual interactions. Until one finds this book, that awareness may happen only briefly during a poignant moment during a film, upon hearing the words of a song, or while recalling the memory of once being loved in the right way. I like the way that Powell takes this awareness and expands it until it creates a paradigm shift internally.
