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In Darkness And In Light | With Patina Miller

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(Brian Rea for the New York Times)
(Brian Rea for the New York Times)

Nicole Kear seems like any other young mom — balancing career and family, rushing from activity to activity, and working to keep her marriage strong.

But Nicole has another challenge. She’s slowly going blind.

This week, her Modern Love piece, “Together Always, In Darkness and in Light,” is read by Tony Award-winning actress Patina Miller.

Next week, on March 3, we will release an episode that's all about taking a leap of faith. We want to hear your stories. In three sentences or less, tell us about a time you took a leap of faith in love. Write it down, or record a voice memo, and email it to modernlove@wbur.org.

A sneak peek:

"I've always wanted to go back to school. I was way, way too scared for years. So we did it together." — Ruby-Beth, Brooklyn

"In the spring of 1984, my girlfriend and I had been together (small Ohio college) for 18 months and apart (Ohio, Georgia, New Zealand) for an equal amount of time. We had not spoken in three months when I called to suggest that we get married over Thanksgiving weekend. Thirty-two years, two children and millions of warm memories later, I guess it was a phone call worth making." — John Lutz, Leeds, Massachusetts

"A month ago today my boyfriend and I were married after six years of dating. He says he doesn't love me as intensely as I love him. So I guess he took the leap of faith for me." — Jesus Hanson, Xalapa Veracuz, Mexico

When you send in your leap of faith, don't forget to tell us where you're from so we can add you to the Modern Love map (see below).

You can also share quotes on the Modern Love Facebook page.

More About The Voices in This Episode

Patina Miller can currently be seen as press coordinator 'Daisy Grant' in the second season of CBS’ hit drama series, “Madam Secretary,” starring Tea Leoni, Bebe Neuwirth and Tim Daly. Written by Barbara Hall and directed by Dave Semel, the series premiered in September 2014 and returned to CBS for its sophomore season in October 2015.

Miller made her feature film debut as ‘Commander Paylor’ in Lionsgate’s "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1." Also starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore and Philip Seymour Hoffman, the first part of the famous trilogy’s finale was released in November 2014. Patina then reprised her role in the final installment of the series, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2," which was released in November 2015.

Miller starred as the Leading Player in the Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz’s famous 1972 musical, "Pippin." Directed by Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus, "Pippin" received the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical at the 67th Annual Tony Awards. Patina earned a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical as well as Drama League, Fred and Adele Astaire Award and Broadway.com Audience Choice Award nominations for her performance. She previously performed the role of Leading Player in the American Repertory Theater production of "Pippin" from December 2012 to January 2013.

Miller made her Broadway debut in the 2011 Broadway season as the gutsy nightclub-singer-turned-nun Deloris Van Cartier in the stage adaptation of "Sister Act," which earned her first Tony nomination as well as Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for her performance. Miller originated the role of Deloris in the West End production of "Sister Act" at the London Palladium, where she received an Olivier Award nomination and a WhatsOnStage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Additionally, Miller starred in multiple Off-Broadway productions including "Ragtime" at Avery Fisher Hall, City Center Encores! production of Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson’s Lost in the Stars, and the Manhattan Theatre Club’s Romantic Poetry. Patina also appeared in the Public Theater’s pre-Broadway revival of Hair during its 2008 run at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, also under the direction of Diane Paulus. Among her regional theatre credits include "First You Dream," a Kander and Ebb revue at the Kennedy Center, Sister Act at the Alliance Theatre and Pasadena Playhouse and the Philadelphia Theater Company production of Being Alive. She has participated in workshops for "Book of Mormon," "Nightingale" and "American Idiot." Prior to her numerous theater credits, Patina appeared in the renowned daytime soap opera "All My Children."

Patina performed her first solo concert at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts during its 2013-2014 theatrical season. She then made her New York City debut in February 2015 as part of Lincoln Center Theater’s “American Songbook” series, which subsequently aired on PBS.

Miller received a degree in musical theater from Carnegie Mellon University. She currently resides in New York City.

(Courtesy of Nicole Kear)
(Courtesy of Nicole Kear)

Nicole C. Kear is the author of the memoir "Now I See You" (St. Martin’s Press), chosen as a Must-Read by People, Amazon, Martha Stewart Living, Parade, Redbook and Marie Claire UK, among others. She is currently working on the first six books of an early reader series for children, "The Fix-It Friends," to be published by Macmillan Kids’ Imprint, in 2017. Her essays appear in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, New York, Psychology Today, as well as Salon, the Huffington Post and xoJane, and she teaches writing at the NYU School of Professional Studies.

A native of New York, she received a BA from Yale, a MA from Columbia and a red nose from the San Francisco School of Circus Arts. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, three children and two aquatic frogs.

Many thanks to Dave Stovall and Henry Gale for giving us permission to use their music in this week's episode. Dave composed "Rare Birds in Love," which is used at the end of the reading. Henry Gale allowed us to use "Clouds Falling from the Sky" from their album "Earthbound."

What did you think of this week's episode? Leave a review on iTunes and while you're there, please subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Headshot of Jessica Alpert

Jessica Alpert Managing Producer, Program Development
Jessica Alpert is the managing producer for program development at WBUR. In this position, she develops new podcasts and programs while also launching and nurturing WBUR’s newest projects.

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