Is love the best thing in the world? Or the worst?
Do you remember your first love? I remember mine well. The world seemed perfect. Everything was right as long as I could be with her. Do you remember your first heartbreak? I remember mine painfully well. The world seemed black and dark. I couldn’t possibly be happy again, because I couldn’t be with the one I loved. You’ve felt that way, haven’t you?
I’ve been thinking about love all week, both the good and the bad, because of an experience a friend has just gone through. He sent me a note Tuesday to tell me what happened to him and ask for advice. I’ve been slow to respond, because I’m not sure what I can say that’s useful. How can you help a man whose heart has been broken?
My friend just experienced his first love and then his first break-up. The relationship didn’t last but a couple of months, but it’s changed so much for him — and he’s left confused and hurting.
We’re going to call him Josh, but that’s not his name. He’s a smart and insightful young man, but he’s struggling to reconcile the horribly conflicting emotions that took him from an amazing high to a devastating low. He described everything that had happened and then asked, “Any advice?”

We’re in summer reruns this week
Love & Hope — Episode 8:
VIDEO: Yes, I’m still going to talk to you about the end of the world
Race discrimination: Sometimes evil, but sometimes praiseworthy?
Freedom lovers, why do so many of you still blindly trust the GOP?
If you made bad partner choice, it’s up to you to make a change
NYC cop’s profanity-laden threats secretly caught on videotape
How can I make sense of a world that’s fundamentally nonsensical?