Nonfiction | Philosophy

A modern translation of the ancient Roman poet Ovid's Remedies for Love--a witty and irreverent work about how to fall out of love

Breakups are the worst. On one scale devised by psychiatrists, only a spouse's death was ranked as more stressful than a marital split. Is there any treatment for a breakup? The ancient Roman poet Ovid thought so. Having become famous for teaching the art of seduction in The Art of Love, he then wrote Remedies for Love ( Remedia Amoris), which presents thirty-eight frank and witty strategies for coping with unrequited love, falling out of love, ending a relationship, and healing a broken heart. How to Get Over a Breakup presents an unabashedly modern prose translation of Ovid's lighthearted and provocative work, complete with a lively introduction and the original Latin on facing pages.

Ovid's advice--which he illustrates with ingenious interpretations of classical mythology--ranges from the practical, psychologically astute, and profound to the ironic, deliberately offensive, and bizarre. Some advice is conventional--such as staying busy, not spending time alone, and avoiding places associated with an ex. Some is off-color, such as having sex until you're sick of it. And some is simply and delightfully weird--such as becoming a lawyer and not eating arugula.

Whether his advice is good or bad, entertaining or outrageous, How to Get Over a Breakup reveals an Ovid who sounds startlingly modern.