Loves Me... Not: How to Survive (and Thrive!) in the Face of Unrequited Love

Popular blogger O’Shea (Note to Self) seeks to cure readers of debilitating crushes and obsessive romantic behavior and embrace the positive side of being single. She recommends the timeless notion of loving yourself first and not seeking others to validate or complete you, while providing instructions on maintaining control of your own self-worth. In addition to pop culture references, O’Shea references the work of Erich Fromm, Eckhart Tolle, and the unhappy romances of literary icons like Maya Angelou and Hans Christian Andersen. O’Shea explains the psychology of infatuation, from the brain’s release of dopamine to a little-known condition called “limerence” that causes “an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one’s feelings reciprocated.” In the chapter “Silence Your Inner Psycho,” she discusses the pitfalls of “hot cognition” and selective hearing. As for the challenges of being single, she offers several responses to the question “Are you seeing anyone?” and lists happy, successful, unmarried people like Coco Chanel and Diane Keaton. O’Shea also boldly includes stories from her own life that, while often unflattering, serve well for hindsight-based observation and instruction. Readers seeking to shake a bout of love sickness will find solid advice and coping skills. (Feb.)