It Ended Badly: 13 of the Worst Breakups in History

by Jennifer Wright

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. —BUDDHA

Evolutionary biologists found that people experiencing heartbreak have brain scans that mirror those of cocaine addicts in withdrawal.

We are brave in battle, heroic in the face of disease, and really just terrific on the whole until someone breaks up with us. And then we absolutely implode

Sometimes they are necessary to help us accomplish what we need to do and to transform us into who we need to be.

Undoubtedly, love is a dangerous and potentially fatal game.

Those accomplishments exist so we can have more years to brew coffee with our partners in the morning.

We pick ourselves up whichever way we fall. We mend ourselves as best we can, and the breaks make us more interesting. We appreciate love more the next time we find it. We are heroic survivors, stronger and wiser and better.

Maybe we all can be bolder and crazier and decide to act as though other people will just follow our lead. A surprising amount of the time they will. There’s nothing noble about this breakup, but it does seem like proof that if you do things with conviction you can get away with just about anything.

He wrote, “If you can keep your head about you while all others are losing theirs … then you’ll be a [really good person].”