DEEPA AT THE LAUNCH OF HER BOOK, 'ASK ME HOW IT WORKS?' IN AMSTERDAM. PHOTO COURTESY: MARCELO RUDUIT

[First of three parts]

Polyamory has been the topic of not a few whispered conversations over the past few years. Often called an open relationship, polyamory is the practice of consensual non-monogamy.

In the Philippines where there is still no divorce, the topic is controversial.

Interestingly, a Filipina-Indian based in Amsterdam has written a memoir about her open marriage. Deepa Paul answers questions you might have about open relationships as she explores her own in her debut book "Ask Me How It Works," which already has been translated to German and Dutch.

Ultimately, it's about how Deepa was able to design her life that makes the most sense for her. "First is knowing what you want and not being afraid to ask for it," she tells GMA News Online over Zoom one September afternoon.

Amid preparations for her upcoming appearance as a panelist at the Frankfurt Book Fair, she answered GMA News Online's questions.

Below is our super interesting conversation with Deepa, edited for length and clarity.

Congrats on the book! Tell us about "Ask Me How it Works."

My book started from an essay. And just like the short-form piece that I tried to get published, the idea for it came from the most frequent questions I received about being in an open marriage.

Because I was so sick and tired of telling people the same answers again and again that I wanted to just send them a link.