The Allure Of The Forbidden Crush

Valentine's Day is seen as a celebration of love. But most of the letters the Sugars receive about love are far less celebratory. For this Valentine's Day, they look at one especially painful form of love: the crush.

They take questions from two letter writers struggling with illicit love interests — one from a career-oriented woman who finds herself drawn to her boss, the other from a recently married woman fantasizing about her husband's younger brother.

The Sugars are joined by the writer Jay Ponteri, who explored his own forbidden crushes in the memoir Wedlocked.

Show notes

[8:34] Jay Ponteri, faculty page, Marylhurst University.

[8:46] "Wedlocked: A Memoir," Jay Ponteri, 2013.

[10:38] "Desperate Characters," Paula Fox, 1970.

[10:42] "Light Years," James Salter, 1975.

[32:16] "Letters To A Young Poet," Rainier Maria Rilke, 1929.

[39:17] "Procreate, Generate," Anthony Doerr, "Memory Wall," 2010.

[43:42] "After Your Love," Robert Bradley, "Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise," 1996.

New episodes of Dear Sugar Radio are released weekly.