This heartbreaking “Modern Love” column is going to be a movie

Where were you when you first read Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s “Modern Love” column? The piece, titled “You May Want to Marry My Husband,” is one of those instantly iconic human stories. We certainly felt all the feelings, and it seems like the best-selling author’s legacy will quickly grow beyond “Modern Love” readership.

Rosenthal sadly passed away on March 13, but her story continues on. Part of this will be through a movie, which is currently the hottest project in Hollywood.

I don’t mean to be crass; this is her life, her husband’s life, of course. Yet the story retains so much meaning because it’s a personal narrative that’s as universal as it comes. We all have to see our loved ones come and go in our own ephemeral lives. What Rosenthal so masterfully convened is her utter love and joy at having had this kind of love at all.

The result is a real tearjerker of an essay, and a chance for us to reflect on our own relationships. That’s what all of the best art does: Provide a mirror for our own conflicting emotions, in the macro and micro. Rosenthal’s piece will endure because it is true to the human condition. It’s not a surprise that the film world wants to share her story. I hope that when that happens, they pay attention to not the exceptional framing of her message, but what she has to say itself.