Until 200 years ago, people lived in large patriarchal families, with grandparents under the same roof. With the advent of the industrial era, a nuclear family of two spouses and one or two children appeared. But times are changing - and alternatives appear to such a family, which we used to consider traditional. When we look for life companions, we increasingly proceed from what we want, and not from how it is accepted. Personal life has turned into an individual project that can be implemented in a variety of ways. This book is about how the institution of the family is changing, what types of male-female relationships exist today, what alternatives are emerging. Svetlana Kolchik is a journalist with 20 years of experience. Based on real stories and numerous interviews, she talks about what a Boston marriage, a patchwork family, life alone are and for what reasons people choose certain ways of living together. For whom the Book will be interesting to those who are not satisfied with the traditional patriarchal way of life for various reasons, as well as those interested in the alternatives existing in the world.