Eyal Cohen '21 Publishes Debut Book, 'Take the L'

Writing alum Eyal Cohen '21 will publish his debut book, Take the L, with Sentient Publications on August 5, 2025. Set in New York City, the book is a collection of vignettes from Cohen's romance with a partner named L, exploring intimacy through the lens of contemporary masculinity.

Take the L began during Cohen's workshop at Columbia. "I feel like everything about this writing process can be traced back to a single moment in workshop during my first year, where a fellow writer (shoutout Khash) in our workshop with Jen Percy pointed out that the narrator in my essay came across as overly masculine. From that moment I started writing much more intentionally about masculinity and performance and identity," wrote Cohen. 

Cohen continued to interrogate the dissonance between the locker room talk he experienced as a college athlete and the conversations he had in workshop, to examine masculinity and how it becomes toxic. One of the essays he wrote for his thesis, about how men love, became the kernel of Take the L.

"I am excited (and hopeful) that my voice may add something…to the discourse of dating and love and masculinity and gender in the modern day, a discourse which seems to garner more and more dread and negativity as days go by," wrote Cohen. 

With unabashed, nuanced language, Take the L addresses conundrums familiar to many of those looking for love today. Over the lifespan of Cohen's relationship with L, he confronted questions like "Why does the promise of intimacy trigger inhibition?" and "How does his conditioning ignite his instinct to withdraw?" Take the L considers how men and toxic masculinity have shaped modern dating culture, and the consequences of their actions on themselves and those they love.

"With remarkable wit and intensity, Take the L cracks open the soft center of the masculine soul," said Associate Professor Wendy Walters. "In this era of accelerated romantic connections and breakups, here is a story of how love can transform one's perception of the entire world. Take the L got under my skin and opened my mind. A wholly original and necessary read." 

Take the L ranges from meditations on bell hooks and Andrea Lon Chu's writing to drawing parallels between Jackson Pollack and premature ejaculation. Former Professor of Professional Practice Philip Lopate (CC '64) said of Take the L, "A lively, frank and inventive rumination, experimental in the best sense. If you've ever wondered what goes on in the mind of an intelligent, sex-obsessed, bookish young man of today's generation who is trying to figure out the meaning of love, this is the ideal place to start."

"Take the L creates space and provides the language for meaningful conversations for those looking to better understand the young men in their lives—whether they be peers, partners, colleagues, or sons," wrote the publisher.

Take the L is currently available on Sentient Publications' website.