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The Intimate Animal

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

Why do we love who we love? Why do we stay in unfulfilling relationships, or stray from rewarding ones? Why do some couples crash and burn while others stay madly in love?

In The Intimate Animal, Dr Justin Garcia - one of the world’s leading experts on the science of love and sex – reveals that the answer to these questions lies in our evolution. We are biologically wired to connect with each other, yet our inner intimate animal is often at odds with the way we live now.

Dr Garcia explains the multiplicity of human sexual and romantic behaviour using cutting-edge research from his team of researchers at the world-leading Kinsey Institute, including:

- Why we have evolved to live and die for love
- Why searching for ‘the one’ is futile
- Why we are wired for 'social monogamy’ but not necessarily ‘sexual monogamy’
- Why some people are more likely to cheat

With practical tips on love and lust – the two biological systems often in painful conflict – The Intimate Animal is the essential, research-backed guide for anyone who wants to forge deeper, more intimate connections in these disconnected times.

'Garcia brings us back to the animal inside to remind us that even when connection, love, and desire feel elusive, it’s exactly what we’re wired for' Esther Perel, bestselling author of Mating in Captivity

'I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK! A real page turner' John Gottman, bestselling author of Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

© Dr Justin Garcia 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

Fascinating and useful [...] peppered with practical advice on how to invest in our relationships, and why that is worth doing
The Telegraph Magazine
A thoughtful and well-researched treatise
The Sunday Times
Even when connection, love and desire feel elusive, Garcia reminds us that it's exactly what we're wired for
Esther Perel, psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of Mating in Captivity
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK! So exciting to see a research-based book that gets to the real fundamentals in understanding what it means to be human. This book is a real page turner, so rare in non-fiction.
John Gottman, author of Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work
Evolutionary biologist Justin Garcia’s groundbreaking studies reveal the latest changes in human dating and mating as well as some of our most ancient needs and desires.
Scott Barry Kaufman, author of Rise Above and host of The Psychology Podcast
Brilliant. A must read for anyone curious about the deeper forces behind love, sex, and connection.
Dr Emily Morse, author of Smart Sex
Compassionate, data-rich, and radically hopeful. This book is a revelation. Garcia cuts through noise and shame to map how we bond, break, and begin again.
Lara Love Hardin, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Lives of Mama Love
A daring exploration of how our hunger for closeness shapes every stage of intimacy—and why learning to nurture that hunger may be the most important work we ever do.
Iris Krasnow, bestselling author of Surrendering to Marriage
A must read for anyone interested in the topic of sex, love and human relationships.
Kate Moyle, Psychosexual Therapist and author of The Science Of Sex
Author Dr Justin Garcia
Narrator Matt Godfrey
Duration 7 hours and 6 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9780241992883
Format Audiobook
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Genre Dating, relationships, living together and marriage: advice and issues, Evolutionary anthropology, Popular science, Practical advice: Life hacks / handy tips, Psychology: sexual behaviour, Sex and sexuality: advice and issues
Availability AU, GB, IE

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