The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center

＂Why do we assume romantic relationships are more important than friendships? What do we lose when we expect a spouse to meet all our needs? And what can we learn about commitment, love, and family from people who put deep friendship at the center of their lives? ... Cohen invites us into the lives of people who have defied convention by choosing a friend as a life partner--these are friends who are home co-owners, co-parents, or each other’s caregivers. Their ... stories unsettle widespread assumptions about relationships, including the idea that sex is a defining feature of partnership and that people who raise kids together should be in a romantic relationship＂--

Rhaina Cohen is an award-winning producer and editor for NPR’s signature narrative podcast, Embedded. Her
work, often focused on human behavior, has aired on numerous podcasts and radio shows, including Hidden
Brain, Invisibilia, Planet Money and All Things Considered, and her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The
Washington Post, The New Republic and elsewhere. The recipient of numerous fellowships, Cohen was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to complete The Other Significant Others. She’s a graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Oxford, where she was a Marshall Scholar. Cohen lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, friends, and her friends’ children.