Self-described “author, artist and everyday radical” Emily Wierenga is a new friend in the blogosphere. Her latest book debuts on Mother’s Day: Mom in the Mirror explores issues of beauty and body image after pregnancy, and as a survivor of an eating disorder and wife and mother to two boys, Emily brings to her deft, impressionistic use of words a vast and helpful arsenal of experience in this area.

I’ve been privileged to receive an advance copy of Emily’s forthcoming book for review closer to the date of release, and am grateful for the opportunity to showcase her work here at this intersection. As part of an ongoing weekly series, “The Love Dare,” here she reflects on the meaning of a kiss. Why can it be hard to let our husbands kiss us deeply without abandon? The answer pulls on my heartstrings- for every time I, too, sometimes tighten up in a moment of deep intimacy.