Hurts so good The science and culture of pain on purpose

Journalist Cowart looks at sex, sports, and science in their intense consideration on why some people choose to inflict pain on themselves. "Masochism is a very human behavior, and one that only sometimes has anything to do with sex," Cowart writes, arguing that such commonplace activities as extreme sports and workaholism tap into the same desire. To that end, they explore extreme and painful activities that people participate in by choice: there's a chapter on hot-pepper-eating competitions that feature the world's hottest chili peppers ("I get a rush. It makes me feel good. It gives me energy," the inventor of the pepper says); one on ultramarathoning, where people are "allowed to stare pain in the face"; and one covering various types of religious pain and their modern-day, secular adherents (scientists found a "biological similarity between starvation... and getting high on drugs"). Along the way, there are informative explanations of the neurobiology of pain and pleasure, and plenty of personal reflection on the author's own relationship to masochism. Queasy readers need not apply--graphic depictions of masochistic sex, bulimia, and self-mutilation are in no short supply. But for those already into the subject, Cowart's raw study offers insight. Agent: Anna Sproul-Latimer, Neon Literary. (Sept.) Correction: This review has been updated with the author's preferred pronouns.

Part memoir, part scientific study, this book by journalist Cowart explores the relationship between pain and pleasure, or masochism. "A crucial tenet of masochism is that it must always be consensual. If it's not, it's not masochism. Period," prefaces Cowart, before launching into a description of their own experiences. As someone who themself identifies as a masochist, Cowart has written a very personal study that's also deeply researched and full of interviews with neuroscientists and other experts. Cowart addresses, from a global perspective, the thorny issue of the boundary between pain as a hobby (e.g., acupuncture, ballet, polar plunges, ultramarathons) and pain as a dangerous pathology. The book also explores BDSM literature, from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's 1870 Venus in Furs through E. L. James's 2011 Fifty Shades of Grey, plus the scientific research of Richard von Krafft-Ebing and Alfred Kinsey. VERDICT With a remarkable degree of vulnerability and a lot of research on the history of neurology, Cowart earnestly tries to explain why people voluntarily experience pain, or engage with pain in order to feel pleasure. Their engaging, easygoing writing (expect a generous serving of expletives and vivid descriptions) will either draw readers or make them turn away.--Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's Sch., Brooklyn