Chicago Author Who Penned Heart-Wrenching 'Modern Love' Essay Dead At 51

By Stephen Gossett in News on Mar 13, 2017 7:00PM

The Chicago writer who reduced the New York Times-reading public and beyond to a collective heartbroken mess with her viral essay calling for suitors for her husband, Jason, has died of ovarian cancer at 51.

In "You May Want to Marry My Husband," Amy Krouse Rosenthal wrote devastatingly about learning of her cancer diagnosis (which she originally thought was nothing more than appendicitis), reflected on how her illness would rob her of a future with her husband, then went on to champion her husband's values, charms and deep reservoir of character—and thereby demonstrating her own—for any future potential partners.

Looking back on it again, the waterworks are flowing even more than the first time we read.

In the essay, published on March 3, Rosenthal wrote:

"Want to hear a sick joke? A husband and wife walk into the emergency room in the late evening on Sept. 5, 2015. A few hours and tests later, the doctor clarifies that the unusual pain the wife is feeling on her right side isn’t the no-biggie appendicitis they suspected but rather ovarian cancer."

"As for the future, allow me to introduce you to the gentleman of this article, Jason Brian Rosenthal," she wrote in the essay. "He is an easy man to fall in love with. I did it in one day."

From her catalog of Jason sells, which now pierces the heart even more somehow:

"Here is the kind of man Jason is: He showed up at our first pregnancy ultrasound with flowers. This is a man who, because he is always up early, surprises me every Sunday morning by making some kind of oddball smiley face out of items near the coffeepot: a spoon, a mug, a banana.

This is a man who emerges from the minimart or gas station and says, “Give me your palm.” And, voilà, a colorful gumball appears. (He knows I love all the flavors but white.)"

Rosenthal finished up writing the letter on Valentine's Day, she wrote in the essay.

According to her website, Rosenthal wrote more than 30 books, including children's books and journals. She contributed to TED conferences and NPR and produced a handful of viral YouTube videos, her bio also notes.

Her last book, the brilliant Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal, ended: "Bye. I love you. Thank you." Goodbye, Amy. I love you. Thank you.

— John Green (@johngreen) March 13, 2017