Sex Outside the Lines

Authentic Sexuality in a Sexually Dysfunctional Culture

By: Chris Donaghue PhD

Narrated by: Michael Hinton

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

In Sex Outside the Lines, Dr. Chris Donaghue describes the holes in society's definition of "normal", taking a sharp eye to institutions such as marriage, cheating, virginity, identity, and sexual orientation. He also examines all the ways that accepting society's "truths" have led to the demise of long-term relationships and sexual pleasure. All of this misinformation is showing up in your bedroom and preventing you from having the sex life you're entitled to.

In Donaghue's years of training in sex and couples therapy, he has developed highly successful methods for freeing clients from sexual hang-ups, enabling them to let go of shame and embarrassment. Donaghue pulls apart cultural phobias with a "sex positive" therapy practice, a kind of sexual deprograming that helps people see and accept the desires they have - even if they don't align with societal expectations - are really natural, healthy, and part of having a great sex life.

©2015 Chris Donaghue (P)2015 Tantor

Eloquent and inspiring! May have to reread

Sometimes the language was difficult to follow, had to rewind often, but the general concepts came across, so progressive, so enlightened! Acknowledges and breaks down all social norms that we except as rules and suggests modern and approachable alternatives for sex and relationships. 🙌🙌

Great book, Terrible Audio

What did you like best about Sex Outside the Lines? What did you like least?

I love the ideas, concepts, and topics. Great book club book, but the recording is consistent and distracting.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Michael Hinton?

Someone who could have fun with the text. The reader is boring but the recording inconsistency is the big issue.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No! yes on the topic, but the book would need a complete rewrite to be story driven.

Any additional comments?

Buy the physical skip the audio unless dyslexic like me than consider letting JAWS read it or Adobe. The recording is just trash at best.

One of My Favorites for 2015

I'd never heard of Chris Donaghue until he was interviewed on a podcast, discussing this book, which I've now listened to three times and read once in print. He extends many critiques of marriage and heteronormativity which were made in the 1970's, but with modern theory and the inside experience of a humane therapist who has been backstage in the sausage factory of what passes for sexual "expertise" among front-line counselors.

His belief in the positive value of sexuality and the right of all people to sexual fulfillment has me thinking in exciting new ways that make me more accepting of others. All others. A thought-provoking read worth thinking on for months to come.

Educational but repetitive

The narration is very good. The book is filled with good research and theory that is both interesting and very educational. However, it is quiet repetitive. I did enjoy the authors strong opinions but at times the wording could offend some people (although I was not offended personally- just be warned).

A REAL EYE OPENER

I never knew that I was actually in reality so uneducated and unaware of how sexually repressed I am. This book is shocking yet stable in its futuristic, before its time theories regarding sexuality.

Ok book

Book was hard to fallow due to so many big works that I had no clue of lol lol

Expand your box

This book is an excellent, thought-provoking challenge to today’s oppressive status quo. Read it and expand your box!

he tells it like it is

I like this book because he calls bs on a lot of the old school though of oh just wait till you get married to have sex like what I was told my how life just all over a good listen

Fantastic and Informative

This is an educated, thoughtful and wise analysis of sexuality and a must-read for all!

Decent Insights, Poor Social Implementation

Dr. Donaghue does make some good points on how society doesn't know what to do with sex. Sometimes we love it, sometimes we try to hide it. However, he tends to make the reader and most people out to be victims of rich white males. I tend to disagree with many of his political views and ideas of dismantling families but I do agree that sex shouldn't be shunned and people shouldn't be shamed for being sexual. The book is quite wordy and at times hard to keep listening to but he does make some very good points on sex and sexuality. I'd say listen to it but don't buy into it hook line and sinker. To quote Aristotle "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."