What does it mean to truly love yourself? In this episode, we sit down with Ronald Zion Roseboro to dive into his powerful book, Woman, If You Only Knew. From personal struggles to deep revelations, Ronald shares his journey of self-discovery, healing, and what it means to embrace authentic masculinity. We’ll uncover the hidden struggles many men face but rarely speak about, how childhood wounds shape relationships and self-worth, the difference between conditional and unconditional love, and so much more. Whether you’re navigating grief, relationships, or your own path to healing, this conversation is one you won’t want to miss. Tune in and discover what true communication and self-love really look like. Thank you for viewing this post. I am not a licensed therapist or professional life coach. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others. Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country: Psychology Today Suicide Hotlines and Prevention Resources Around the World — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here Unmasking Masculinity: Love, Healing, And True Identity With Ronald Zion Roseboro Welcome to the show, Ronald. Thank you for having me. Thank you for being here. This is going to be a conversation fit for the month of February 2025. We are going to go over Ronald’s book titled Woman If You Only Knew. I must say, when I picked this up and I received it in the mail, I almost stayed up too late. I was like, “I need to find out what we are talking about here.” Before we get into this, what’s your favorite dessert? My favorite dessert is red velvet cake. Where’s your favorite place of vacation?     This is where I need a little bit of help in that area of taking more vacations to have more selections. I love the Charleston area. The Charleston, South Carolina, and Hilton Head. What memories in those areas? The beaches and the low country restaurants. True Communication And Self-Love For Men And Women I’m going to dip back and forth into some questions and we are going to go with it. What I thought was very interesting was the acknowledgements, “I dedicate this book to every woman that your mind will become expanded to the reality of the fears, struggles, and vices of many men. My hope is that you’ll become a tool of education and understanding to open the lines of true communication. I would also like to dedicate this book to every man.” “We live in a world of enormous pressures and stress. However, when we learn to love ourselves despite our imperfections, I am certain that we will come to a place of power, freedom, and authentic identity. Not communication, but true communication.” Oftentimes, I hear us talking about women love ourself, but I don’t often hear it in men love ourself. How did you come up with that acknowledgment? First, we have to examine the word love. What does love mean? It has a very subjective meaning varying from person to person. When you talk about the true essence of love, that love that is without conditions, timeless, and doesn’t have any bounds. It’s that type of authentic love that oftentimes we have yet to come in contact with or if we have come in contact with it, you’ll never forget it. It’s that God type of love. He is loving you through someone else. He’s loving you through a situation. As far as men, I think that we love ourselves to an extent, but oftentimes, it’s very difficult to love yourself if you don’t appreciate yourself. You can’t celebrate yourself until you appreciate yourself, which is rooted in the true essence of love.     I’m not talking about societal love and love that we see in books and magazines, on your favorite show and movies. That trivial and shallow love, but I’m talking about real deep love and loving yourself. Not all men, but many men, struggle in that area because of that conflict between having never experienced that type of love, that true love and caught between societal love or love that’s passed down from generation to generation or our friends, colleagues, and society, so we struggle. You said we, so this is a personal experience. When you hear the word love, what is trivial, topical look like versus this real love that you speak of from your own experience? Societal love always comes with conditions. It always comes with stipulations. If you do this, then I will love you. If you don’t do this, I won’t love you. You have to drive a certain car, live in a certain ZIP code, dwell in a certain tax bracket, and then you will receive this type of love. Those types of love are attached to symbols of status, which can go away like that. One car wreck, and now, the handsome, beautiful person is no more. One car wreck and you could be a paraplegic, then what? Do you stop loving me? One job loss, and now you are making six figures, and you are down to above poverty level. Will you still love me? I have to preface it by saying that God type of love because of the way that he loves us, which we can never truly understand and grasp, but it’s love without conditions. I love you because I love you. I’m not interested in trying to get something out of you, but to impart something in you. That type of love, even though it’s reciprocal. Those are the two different loves that come to mind for me. What has been your personal experience in either of those? In growing up without brothers or sisters in a household, predominantly with women until my mother remarried. I