Caroline Hood is a Sex & Relationships Writer.

Drawing on my experience as a licensed clinical social worker with a certification in sex therapy, wife, and mother of three, I write about the complicated, contradictory, and deeply human realities of desire, intimacy, and long-term love. My work blends personal narrative, clinical insight, and cultural commentary to help people rethink what they've been taught about sex and relationships.

As the author of Sex Begets Sex: Reclaiming Desire, Power, & Pleasure in Long-Term Love, I explore desire, intimacy, and the cultural narratives that shape them. Sex Begets Sex: Reclaiming Desire, Power & Pleasure in Long-Term Love, is a provocative, engaging, humorous, and hopeful exploration of desire, sex, play, intimacy, and connection over time. It dispels commonly held beliefs about sex in long-term relationships and offers hope to anyone who fears that sex inevitably gets worse. Sex Begets Sex offers suggestions and support; empowerment and introspection; humor, and a few doses of tough love. Sex Begets Sex will leave you excited to have more sex with their partner, knowing that the more sex you have, the better it gets, so the more you want it, and so on!

Through my writing, I examine the intersection of desire, stress, caregiving, resentment, partnership, embodiment, and modern womanhood. I challenge the idea that desire simply disappears over time, arguing instead that it is often buried beneath responsibility, performance, exhaustion, and the relentless demands placed on women.

My perspective is grounded in both professional expertise and lived experience. I am not speaking about long-term love from outside of it. I am also in it; navigating the chaos of parenting, work, intimacy, emotional labor, and the ongoing tension between exhaustion and aliveness.

I Believe...

• Sex Begets Sex. The more sex we have, the more pleasurable and rewarding it becomes. As desire grows, we want it more—and the more we want it, the more we create opportunities to have it. And on and on!

• Desire is something we cultivate.

• Sex is more than a physical act; it is connection, play, vitality, and identity.

• Sex binds a couple; it’s a protective factor against stress and the challenges of adulthood.

• Couples are not broken for struggling in long-term relationships, they likely just need more intention, more prioritisation, and more communication.

• Sex protects against stress; maintains couples as more than roommates; builds playfulness and pleasure; and makes all other aspects of a relationship better.

• Meaningful intimacy is possible, even in the midst of ordinary life.

Sex Begets Sex brings a rare combination of clinical depth, cultural insight, personal vulnerability, and humor to conversations about sex and relationships.

Sex Begets Sex Resonates With People Who Wonder…

• Where did my desire go? I want to want again.

• Why does sex feel complicated, like an obligation, or something that’s just completely gone?

• Do I have to settle for just “fine” when I really want more?

• Can intimacy actually get better over time?

• I miss the couple we used to be; please tell me there is hope!

Sex Begets Sex speaks to people not as problems to be solved, but as capable, sexual beings worthy of pleasure, connection, agency, and joy—over a lifespan.

Why Did I Write Sex Begets Sex?

I’m a certified sex therapist, licensed clinical social worker, a woman in a long-term relationship, and a mother. I live the tension between exhaustion and desire, and I’ve learned that both can exist at the same time. I’ve learned that sex binds a couple and builds the fun! I’ve learned how wonderful sex is for a relationship and how it is possible to get even better over time!

What Makes Sex Begets Sex Different?

You won’t find gimmicks, scripts, or “10 ways to fix your sex life” here.

Sex Begets Sex offers:

• A breakdown of the myths we believe about sex: that sex must be spontaneous, that desire fades, that happy sex lives are reserved for our youth or for novelty.

• Suggestions for how to dispel these myths. How to create rituals and rhythms that support a thriving sex life, how to look forward to intentional sex, how to redefine sex and lower the stakes so sex can happen more frequently and be more pleasurable.

• A raw, candid look at real life, sharing real experiences while also providing helpful suggestions and support to implement in your own lives.

I believe the best sex of our lives is yet to come!