love school

For today's paper, I wrote a profile of this book, "Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me."

It's a pretty cool collection of stories from male writers, most of whom are well-known humorists ranging from Stephen Colbert to Will Forte. The anthology differs from the inspirational stuff you might expect from, say, "Chicken Soup for the Soul." Many of the submissions' morals simply boil down to the fact that in dating, sometimes people just make bad decisions.

As cliche as it sounds, I really do think you grow as a person every time a relationship ends. Now sure, sometimes the resulting lesson isn't life changing. But I can grasp concrete things I've learned from almost every severed romance, the 5 most important lessons being:

1. Similarities on paper have no bearing on face-to-face success.

2. People adapt, but never fully change.

3. Chronic lateness has meaning far beyond a series of missed dinner reservations.

4. Guys, too, have issues.

5. I deserve a date who compliments me on my outfit. Repeatedly.

What's the most important breakup-inspired lesson you've learned? Do you subscribe to the belief that everything happens for a reason, or do you think some breakups have no value beyond emotional suffering?

Click here to buy a copy of "Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me." It's also available at the Columbus Public Library, as soon as I return it.