Now her philosophy—the virtue
of selfishness—helps readers
chart a path to true love. _________________

"There is no other book on the market
[that I know of] that can compete with
the ideas presented here to help
you achieve a successful romantic life."

"..reading it I couldn't help but look back
on my past relationships and think 'I wish
I had this book then.'"

The Selfish Path to Romance teaches us that love is not about sacrifice or subduing who we really are and what we really want. Real, lasting romantic love comes when you are certain about your values, your needs, and your worth. Ayn Rand herself put it best when she said, “One gains a profoundly personal, selfish joy from the mere existence of the person one loves. It is one’s own personal, selfish happiness that one seeks, earns, and derives from love.”

Love cannot last when we need others to validate our self-worth. Dr. Locke and Dr. Kenner use their expertise of Rand’s philosophy and their decades of psychological work to show us how being rationally selfish is the best way to succeed at finding and keeping love. It’s important to first develop self-esteem and self-love because having a firm sense of yourself actually makes you more lovable to others. The authors also explain the importance of moral character and how to look for and evaluate potential soul mates who also value their own needs and happiness.

Pairing two selfish partners actually helps love thrive, since neither partner is looking for self-fulfillment from the other. Rather, since they each already have a strong sense of self-worth, their relationship becomes a balance of mutual respect and support instead of an unbalanced power struggle of unhealthy co-dependency and unresolvable conflict, with one or both partners seeking personal validation from the other. Selfish partners make each other feel visible (not validated) by recognizing the virtues and values in each other. This visibility is essential to lasting romantic love.

Dr. Locke and Dr. Kenner include information on how to communicate individual needs, nurture romance, and resolve conflicts in ways that will keep the relationship thriving. They also explain how partners can best cope should they find they need to end their relationship. Filled with case studies that illustrate both successful and unsuccessful relationships as well as exercises for readers to complete and lists of helpful resources, The Selfish Path to Romance is an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to find and keep a new relationship or improve and sustain the one they have without losing themselves.

About the Authors:

Edwin A. Locke is a well-published and internationally known scholar with fifteen years of clinical experience and is Dean’s Professor of Leadership and Motivation (Emeritus) at the University of Maryland. He is a frequent guest speaker at conferences on the topic of goal-setting and is a guest lecturer at the Ayn Rand Institute. He earned his doctorate at Cornell University and his BS from Harvard University.

Ellen Kenner is a licensed clinical psychologist in Rhode Island and host of a syndicated radio talk show, “The Rational Basis of Happiness”. She has led many workshops on the topic of romance and has taught psychology on the university level. She earned her doctorate from the University of Rhode Island and her BA from Brown University.

The Selfish Path to Romance: How to Love with Passion and Reason, Inspired by the Ideas of Ayn Rand by Edwin A. Locke and Ellen Kenner

Publication Date: February 14, 2011

Platform Press (an imprint of Winans Kuenstler Publishing)
Paperback; $16.95; ISBN: 978-0-982411-75-9

For information, contact:
Winans Kuenstler Publishing: Raquel Pidal, Editorial Director
(215) 421-7370 or Raquel.Pidal@wkpublishing.com