True Love Stories

"Modern Love" is a New York Times series of weekly reader-submitted essays that explore the joys and tribulations of love.
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"In research published in 2010, scientists found that acetaminophen can reduce physical and neural responses associated with the pain of social rejection, whether in romantic relationships, friendships or otherwise.  So if you’re hurting from heartache, try popping some Tylenol." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Feelings, Draw, Art, Poster, That One Friend, Illustration Art, Artsy, Giving Up Smoking, Drawings
Can Tylenol Help Heal a Broken Heart? (Published 2016)
"In research published in 2010, scientists found that acetaminophen can reduce physical and neural responses associated with the pain of social rejection, whether in romantic relationships, friendships or otherwise. So if you’re hurting from heartache, try popping some Tylenol." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"I wanted to be angry that he was still using my login — that he could still take from me after leaving me with nothing. But I couldn’t. This was my only connection to him, and changing my password would sever the last artery of this bleeding limb." (Illustration: Brian Rea) History, Netflix, Nostalgia, Nerd Alert, Love Film, In This Moment, Nerd, Live And Learn, Entire
The Entire Netflix History of Us (Published 2016)
"I wanted to be angry that he was still using my login — that he could still take from me after leaving me with nothing. But I couldn’t. This was my only connection to him, and changing my password would sever the last artery of this bleeding limb." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"I felt, more than ever before, the crushing burden of motherhood. We moms may feel closer to the source of all power that exists in the universe, but we are forced to endure the condescension of a society that acknowledges our role with pink balloons."(Illustration: Brian Rea) Design, Illustrators, Pink, York, Closer, Bonito, Dont Call Me, Just Don, Motherhood
Just Don’t Call Me Mom (Updated With Podcast) (Published 2016)
"I felt, more than ever before, the crushing burden of motherhood. We moms may feel closer to the source of all power that exists in the universe, but we are forced to endure the condescension of a society that acknowledges our role with pink balloons."(Illustration: Brian Rea)
"Some say the definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior over and over and expecting a different outcome. While dating does make me feel crazy at times (when messaging with a sandwich, for instance), I keep at it in hopes that one day the outcome will be different." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Love, Relationship Tips, Love Life, Love Dating, Writing Life, Single Dating, Best Relationship, Definition Of Insanity, Relationship
Single Woman Seeking Manwich (Published 2016)
"Some say the definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior over and over and expecting a different outcome. While dating does make me feel crazy at times (when messaging with a sandwich, for instance), I keep at it in hopes that one day the outcome will be different." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"Our ridiculous lack of differences worried me. My idea of a successful relationship had been that of a Venn diagram with a healthy intersection, not two mostly overlapping circles, and that the best match was one in which you complemented, not replicated, each other. Perhaps I was missing something." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Animation, Reading Material, Articles, What Is Love, Sparks Joy, Self Described, Animated Gif
Putting Love to the Stress Test (Published 2016)
"Our ridiculous lack of differences worried me. My idea of a successful relationship had been that of a Venn diagram with a healthy intersection, not two mostly overlapping circles, and that the best match was one in which you complemented, not replicated, each other. Perhaps I was missing something." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
The actress Connie Britton reads the story of a woman’s challenges with a daughter adopted from China. (Illustration: David Chelsea) Chelsea Fc, Adoption, China, Ted Talks, Young Life, The New York Times, Daughter
The Modern Love Podcast: ‘My First Lesson in Motherhood’ (Published 2016)
The actress Connie Britton reads the story of a woman’s challenges with a daughter adopted from China. (Illustration: David Chelsea)
The transgender activist Jennifer Finney Boylan on navigating marriage and parenthood while transitioning from “Daddy” to “Maddy.” (Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal) Mason Jars, Youtube, Best Dad, Parenthood, Activist, Young Adult
Modern Love: The Podcast | ‘Maddy’ Just Might Work After All (Published 2016)
The transgender activist Jennifer Finney Boylan on navigating marriage and parenthood while transitioning from “Daddy” to “Maddy.” (Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal)
"Driving my Alfa Romeo reminds me that difficulty, per se, has never stopped me from pursuing something I think has true worth. Driving, I’m reminded that I, too, can shift gears, face risk, handle inconvenience — and survive tragedy. I re-experience the joy in all my senses: touch, smell, taste, hearing and not exclusively vision, as dictated by our increasingly virtual world." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Michelle Rodriguez, Vintage, Reading, Let's Go, Letting Go, Widow, Wheel, Let It Be, Road
On a Serpentine Road, With the Top Down (Published 2016)
"Driving my Alfa Romeo reminds me that difficulty, per se, has never stopped me from pursuing something I think has true worth. Driving, I’m reminded that I, too, can shift gears, face risk, handle inconvenience — and survive tragedy. I re-experience the joy in all my senses: touch, smell, taste, hearing and not exclusively vision, as dictated by our increasingly virtual world." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"I wanted to leave the rape far behind, as if it were a physical object. I did not yet know that you couldn’t shed rape like a cardigan, that it lives on inside of you, dark and slick and taking fresh forms just when you think you have exorcised it." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Fresh, Art Drawings, Moving Forward, I Want To Leave
When Moving Forward Means Stepping Back (Published 2016)
"I wanted to leave the rape far behind, as if it were a physical object. I did not yet know that you couldn’t shed rape like a cardigan, that it lives on inside of you, dark and slick and taking fresh forms just when you think you have exorcised it." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
“Your parents don’t mind that we sleep together?” “It doesn’t seem so, does it?” “So they know that you — we — are gay?” “They certainly do now,” I said.  (Illustration: Brian Rea) Artists, Childrens Books, Someone Told Me, Quality, Artist, Awe
It’s Been a Long Time Coming (Published 2016)
“Your parents don’t mind that we sleep together?” “It doesn’t seem so, does it?” “So they know that you — we — are gay?” “They certainly do now,” I said. (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"A queasy wave washed over me as I wondered: How could he choose someone so different from me? I was prepared for him to date other people, but I wasn’t prepared for her." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Social Issues, Gender, Sex Education, Writer, Girl Power, Male Sketch, Female Sketch, It's Meant To Be
All Twisted Up by Gender Bending (Published 2016)
"A queasy wave washed over me as I wondered: How could he choose someone so different from me? I was prepared for him to date other people, but I wasn’t prepared for her." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"As soon as she left, I sent Charley an email telling him that I had just met the woman of his dreams and that he should move back, marry her and live happily ever after." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Graphics, Inspiration, Fighting Aging, Photography Lovers, Age Discrimination
A Slow-Motion Demise, a Fast-Forward Repair (Published 2016)
"As soon as she left, I sent Charley an email telling him that I had just met the woman of his dreams and that he should move back, marry her and live happily ever after." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"We removed our gloves and shook hands. Our hands were chilly and blocky, but we had put them to good use. Through them, we had communed and communicated. And our handshake, I sensed, had completed our conversation in the secret language of male intimacy, a language in which I am still struggling to gain fluency." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Caricature, Field Guide, Guide, Field, Male, Ny Times
A Field Guide to Male Intimacy (Published 2016)
"We removed our gloves and shook hands. Our hands were chilly and blocky, but we had put them to good use. Through them, we had communed and communicated. And our handshake, I sensed, had completed our conversation in the secret language of male intimacy, a language in which I am still struggling to gain fluency." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"This isn’t the part of the story when the woman overcomes her challenges and is rewarded with new love. It’s not the part when the rain washes away her fear or rinses off her grief. This is the part when the clouds part so briefly she might have imagined it, when the promise of light is made and then brutally withheld, when restoration begins to seem possible but is not yet realized. This isn’t the happy part of the story, but that’s O.K. This story isn’t finished." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Ride Or Die, Riding, Bike Ride, Cool Art, Graphic, Grafik
Love and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Published 2016)
"This isn’t the part of the story when the woman overcomes her challenges and is rewarded with new love. It’s not the part when the rain washes away her fear or rinses off her grief. This is the part when the clouds part so briefly she might have imagined it, when the promise of light is made and then brutally withheld, when restoration begins to seem possible but is not yet realized. This isn’t the happy part of the story, but that’s O.K. This story isn’t finished." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"In the months that followed, thinking of my ex-wife’s lover as that sweet boy’s father was somehow very helpful for me. I had held Catherine’s boy, felt the good weight of his body, and eventually I learned that it’s hard to hate a person when that person was a part of bringing something good into the world." Click to read more of this week's Modern Love column. (Illustration: Brian Rea) Waiting Rooms, Other Woman, Waiting, Modern Love, Infidelity
In the Waiting Room of Estranged Spouses (Published 2016)
"In the months that followed, thinking of my ex-wife’s lover as that sweet boy’s father was somehow very helpful for me. I had held Catherine’s boy, felt the good weight of his body, and eventually I learned that it’s hard to hate a person when that person was a part of bringing something good into the world." Click to read more of this week's Modern Love column. (Illustration: Brian Rea)
The actress and Tony Award winner Patina Miller reads “Together Always, in Darkness and in Light,” about a woman navigating the challenges of love, marriage and building a family while going blind. (Illustration: Brian Rea) Diy Artwork, Instagram, Malaga, Fun, Love Book, How To Memorize Things
Modern Love: The Podcast | In Darkness and in Light (Published 2016)
The actress and Tony Award winner Patina Miller reads “Together Always, in Darkness and in Light,” about a woman navigating the challenges of love, marriage and building a family while going blind. (Illustration: Brian Rea)
The actor Michael Shannon reads “A Memory Magically Interrupted,” about a grandmother whose struggle with Alzheimer’s ends up healing not just, as it would appear, her own health maladies, but also healing her family. (Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal) Life Lessons, Memories, Student Work, Love Story
Modern Love: The Podcast | Magically Interrupted (Published 2016)
The actor Michael Shannon reads “A Memory Magically Interrupted,” about a grandmother whose struggle with Alzheimer’s ends up healing not just, as it would appear, her own health maladies, but also healing her family. (Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal)
"The zoo, in retrospect, seems like the perfect place to learn that if you’re going to outgrow your old self anyway, you may as well learn to value alien experience, to not recoil from new sensations, and to respond with supple curiosity, not rigid fear, when some scaly or feathered gift crawls into your open palm." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Perspective, Mindfulness, Arts And Crafts, Zoo, Curiosity, Gorilla, Primates, Feathered
Shedding Skins at the Zoo (Published 2016)
"The zoo, in retrospect, seems like the perfect place to learn that if you’re going to outgrow your old self anyway, you may as well learn to value alien experience, to not recoil from new sensations, and to respond with supple curiosity, not rigid fear, when some scaly or feathered gift crawls into your open palm." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"I had been single for 24 years. Just putting that ring on my finger felt odd, almost embarrassing, as later it would be difficult to say “my husband” or refer to myself as Jim’s wife. To me, marriage had meant trouble. Failure. Pain. Why risk that again?" (Illustration: Brian Rea) End Of Life, Vulnerability, Grief, Appreciation, Good Thoughts, Health Crisis, Care
What Luck Means Now (Published 2016)
"I had been single for 24 years. Just putting that ring on my finger felt odd, almost embarrassing, as later it would be difficult to say “my husband” or refer to myself as Jim’s wife. To me, marriage had meant trouble. Failure. Pain. Why risk that again?" (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"Maybe because we live in an age of so many choices, most of them meaningless, we romanticize the notion that falling in love isn’t a choice but something that happens to us. That love tells us what to do, not the other way around. Love is the authority figure, and if love tells us wrongly, then we can’t be held fully responsible." (Illustration: Brian Rea) Foreign, Authority Figures, Humanoid Sketch, Man, New York Times
In a Foreign Land With Something to Declare (Published 2016)
"Maybe because we live in an age of so many choices, most of them meaningless, we romanticize the notion that falling in love isn’t a choice but something that happens to us. That love tells us what to do, not the other way around. Love is the authority figure, and if love tells us wrongly, then we can’t be held fully responsible." (Illustration: Brian Rea)
The actress Dakota Fanning reads “Celebrating the Upside of an Emotional Plunge," about a teenager who finds the silver lining (and love) after falling 100 feet into one the country’s steepest canyons.(Illustration: Brian Rea) Literature, For What It's Worth, Episode 5, The Upside, True Love Stories, Podcasts
Modern Love: The Podcast | The Plunge (Published 2016)
The actress Dakota Fanning reads “Celebrating the Upside of an Emotional Plunge," about a teenager who finds the silver lining (and love) after falling 100 feet into one the country’s steepest canyons.(Illustration: Brian Rea)
The filmmaker/producer/screenwriter/comedian Judd Apatow reads "At the Hospital, an Interlude of Clarity," about a man, who becomes his true self and enjoys the company of a woman for six hours in the hospital. (Illustration: Brian Rea) Valentine's Day, Cake, Street Art, Studio, Illustrations And Posters, Graphic Design Art
At the Hospital, an Interlude of Clarity (Published 2014)
The filmmaker/producer/screenwriter/comedian Judd Apatow reads "At the Hospital, an Interlude of Clarity," about a man, who becomes his true self and enjoys the company of a woman for six hours in the hospital. (Illustration: Brian Rea)
The actress Sarah Paulson reads “Open Adoption: Not So Simple Math,” about one woman's emotional journey after she makes the decision to give up her son for adoption. (Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal) Open Adoption, Adoption Process, Domestic Adoption, Foster Care, Adoptive Family, Sample Essay, Birth Parents, Essay Contests
Modern Love: The Podcast | Not So Simple Math (Published 2016)
The actress Sarah Paulson reads “Open Adoption: Not So Simple Math,” about one woman's emotional journey after she makes the decision to give up her son for adoption. (Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal)
The actor Jason Alexander reads the essay “One Last Swirl Around the Bowl,” about a man who becomes emotionally attached, playing caregiver to his daughter’s dying fish. (Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal) Editorial, Various Artists, Children's Book Illustration, Favorite Childrens Book, Christopher, Favorite Child
Just One Last Swirl Around the Bowl (Published 2009)
The actor Jason Alexander reads the essay “One Last Swirl Around the Bowl,” about a man who becomes emotionally attached, playing caregiver to his daughter’s dying fish. (Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal)
Actress Lauren Molina reads “A Craigslist ‘Missed Connection’ Lure,” about a woman who fell for a mysterious stranger she met via Craiglist. (Illustration: Brian Rea) Love Editor, Connection, True Love, Stranger, Lauren
A Craigslist ‘Missed Connection’ Lure (Updated With Podcast) (Published 2015)
Actress Lauren Molina reads “A Craigslist ‘Missed Connection’ Lure,” about a woman who fell for a mysterious stranger she met via Craiglist. (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"I have suffered through enough illnesses, trauma and heartbreak to finally understand that life will keep moving forward inexorably, if terribly at times. I am starting to realize that it can be delightful too, if I let it. My love is not diminished if I let go of sorrow. I almost believe that." Click to read more from this week's Modern Love column. (Illustration: Brian Rea) Line Art, Origami, Doodles, Mother, Object Lessons
A Heart Filled With Love, Not Stuff (Published 2016)
"I have suffered through enough illnesses, trauma and heartbreak to finally understand that life will keep moving forward inexorably, if terribly at times. I am starting to realize that it can be delightful too, if I let it. My love is not diminished if I let go of sorrow. I almost believe that." Click to read more from this week's Modern Love column. (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"In this same old-school way, I would leave holes in my schedule every weekend that would be large enough for an actual face-to-face date with him, should he ever decide to suggest one. But he never did, leaving me like a dog wanting more than the cursory scratch behind my ear." Click to read more of this week's Modern Love column. (Illustration: Brian Rea) Texts, Relationship Advice, Lovers And Friends, Dating
To Text or Not to Text: A Dating Conundrum (Published 2016)
"In this same old-school way, I would leave holes in my schedule every weekend that would be large enough for an actual face-to-face date with him, should he ever decide to suggest one. But he never did, leaving me like a dog wanting more than the cursory scratch behind my ear." Click to read more of this week's Modern Love column. (Illustration: Brian Rea)
"Open adoption is an awkward choreography; I am offered a place at the table, but I am not sure where to sit. I don’t know how to be any kind of mother, much less one who surrendered her child but is back to help build a Lego castle." Click to read more of this week's Modern Love column. (Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal)
Open Adoption: Not So Simple Math (Published 2010)
"Open adoption is an awkward choreography; I am offered a place at the table, but I am not sure where to sit. I don’t know how to be any kind of mother, much less one who surrendered her child but is back to help build a Lego castle." Click to read more of this week's Modern Love column. (Illustration: Christopher Silas Neal)
"After 16 years as best friends and occasional roommates, we have become something else, something that doesn’t seem to have a name. We joke that we are each other’s PLP’s — platonic life partners — and recall the promise we made in our 20s: 'If neither of us finds a husband by 40, let’s get married. If only for the registry.'" Click to read more of this week's Modern Love column. (Illustration: Brian Rea) Chosen Family, Love And Respect, Platonic Friends, Life Partners
Platonic, Until Death Do Us Part (Published 2016)
"After 16 years as best friends and occasional roommates, we have become something else, something that doesn’t seem to have a name. We joke that we are each other’s PLP’s — platonic life partners — and recall the promise we made in our 20s: 'If neither of us finds a husband by 40, let’s get married. If only for the registry.'" Click to read more of this week's Modern Love column. (Illustration: Brian Rea)
You can now listen to our Modern Love podcast, featuring Broadway actress Lauren Molina reading this column and a conversation with the writer. (Illustration: Brian Rea)
A Craigslist ‘Missed Connection’ Lure (Updated With Podcast) (Published 2015)
You can now listen to our Modern Love podcast, featuring Broadway actress Lauren Molina reading this column and a conversation with the writer. (Illustration: Brian Rea)