Ask Polly

Ask Polly

'Does He Even Know What Love Is?'

True love speaks very directly, using clear words. Everything else is just suspenseful fiction.

Heather Havrilesky
Oct 03, 2024
∙ Paid
105
8
14
Share
Moeurs Espagnoles (1943) by Dorothea Tanning

Dear Polly,

As Joan Didion said, we tell ourselves stories in order to live. And there are no stories we love to tell ourselves more than love stories! But I am currently mourning the collapse of a story about love that I have been telling myself for years and I don't know how to move forward.

In 2021 I was in a…

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Heather Havrilesky
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture