Sex Diaries: Real-Life Stories of Non-Monogamy and Polyamory

These captivating, all-new anonymous accounts, compiled by Alyssa Shelasky, in the style of her New York magazine column, pull back the curtain on non-monogamy, answering questions like: How does it really work? Who's taking care of the kids? And who's making breakfast?

Featuring an introduction by Esther Perel, renowned psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of Mating in Captivity

A HARPER'S BAZAAR MOST ANTICIPATED SUMMER READ

"This glorious, never-before-published collection of diaries will delight, tantalize, console, amuse, and inspire. May they enlarge our understanding of sexual freedom and enhance our relationships, regardless of how we define them."--Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group

A sixty-seven-year-old woman keeps a collection of well-endowed lovers in various corners of the world; a restaurant owner is jolted back to life when she gets illicit messages from a married man; an artist attends an overwhelming sex party, only to find themselves feeling reinvigorated after they get to role play as a rock. Some diarists are just beginning to question their relationship with monogamy; others have been polyamorous for a long-time. Some accounts are graphic and dishy, while others focus on the search for lasting connections that feel genuinely liberatory. Every single one is strikingly honest and authentic, inviting us to relish the types of stories we hear in secret--the desires and fantasies that get whispered about to trusted confidantes, or relegated to the pages of a diary.

Sex Diaries lets us peek inside those pages, offering a singular, panoramic view into the world of polyamory, and an unforgettable ode to love, lust, longing, and desire.

Author: Alyssa Shelasky
Publisher: Random House
Published: 07/14/2026
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780593977422


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2026

About the Author
Alyssa Shelasky is a writer whose work has been published in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Elle, Vogue, Condé Nast Traveler, Playboy and People. Her popular New York Magazine column, Sex Diaries, is widely considered a cultural phenomenon and was developed into an HBO docuseries with Shelasky producing and starring. She is the author of Apron Anxiety and This Might Be Too Personal, a memoir she is currently developing for TV. She lives in Brooklyn Heights with her family.