Real Love

A note from Editor-in-Chief Kaitlyn Andrews-Rice

A love story usually has the same components: meet-cutes and embarrassing antics. A sidekick best friend full of one liners, carrying a jug of wine. There’s the will they/won’t they montage, a dramatic run through the rain or smog, a boombox held high, and a declaration of emotion designed to make even the grumpiest of us fight tears. It’s a formula. You know what to expect, and it works. Every time.

Our February issue is a love story of a different kind. It’s about the relationships we love and the ones we loathe. An ode to language and family and grief, the love here isn’t so easily resolved with the acoustic beats of a sad song. 

Romance stories, especially the kind peddled by Hollywood, often sell us a lie. Of course we want to believe it’s possible for love to conquer all. Of course want to see people change, to see them run through the rain for someone they love. But sometimes they don’t. Usually they don’t. Love isn’t three acts, a climax, and a finale, followed by credits thanking everyone for their efforts. Love isn’t easily bought or sold. Real love is messy and complicated. Real life too.

With work this month from Pia Ghosh-Roy, Erin Slaughter, John Carr Walker, and Christopher Allen, plus interviews with Ivelisse Rodriguez and James Charlesworth, we’re celebrating our real loves. And our real lives. Chocolates optional.

With love,

KAR