Produced by the Ilab at Wbur, Boston.
Hi, this is Steve.
Just a quick word of warning that we'll be discussing intimate partner violence on this episode.
The universe has good news for the lost, lonely and heart sick.
The sugars are here speaking straight into your ears.
I'm Steve Almond.
I'm Cheryl strayed.
This is dear sugars.
Oh, dear.
So won't you please share some little sweetness with me?
I check my bell vibes every day sugar you see in my way.
Hi, Steve.
Hi, Cheryl.
So I have a story for you.
I was 27 years old.
I had just moved to Portland, Oregon.
I had just finished hiking on the Pacific crest trail and came here to make my life anew.
And I was staying for a while with a woman who was really, really one of my dearest, dearest friends.
I met her less than a year after my mom died, and she was a few years older.
So almost immediately, we became not only really close, but there was this dynamic where I was essentially enamored of her and she of me.