A Widow's Guide to Sex

Modern Love

The New York Times

Storytelling, Nytimes, Nyt, Redemption, New York Times, Society & Culture, Loss, Essay, Love

4.3 • 9K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Joan Price's husband died, her grief left her feeling alienated from her body. She was numb. She couldn’t have orgasms. Her sex drive disappeared. Joan understood better than most people the importance of a fulfilling sex life; as a sex educator for older adults, she centered her work around pleasure and desire. So, she began the process of rediscovering what it means to feel good after loss. Joan ended up writing a book about everything she learned, called "Sex After Grief: Navigating Your Sexuality After Losing Your Beloved." This week on “Modern Love,” Joan Price tells the story of reconnecting with her sexuality, and she shares advice for anyone looking to do the same. Please note: this episode contains explicit descriptions of sex.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Love now and...
0:03.3	Love was stronger than anything.
0:07.3	And I love you more than anything.
0:10.5	What is love?
0:10.9	You're still love.
0:12.1	Love.
0:12.8	From the New York Times, I'm Anna Martin.
0:16.6	This is Modern Love.
0:18.1	Today on the show, I'm talking to Joan Price.
0:22.9	Joan is 82 years old, and I got to tell you, she is the sexiest 82-year-old I have ever met.
0:30.4	When she sat down to talk to me, she had bottles of lube lined up in the background.
0:34.6	This is Joan's whole thing. She's a senior sex educator. She teaches people
0:38.9	how to stay in touch with her desire as they get older. But a while back, Joan lost touch
0:44.8	with her own sexuality. When her husband died, she felt alienated from her body. She was numb. She
0:51.4	couldn't have orgasms. She couldn't feel the things she wanted to feel.
0:55.0	And she knew she had to do something. She ended up writing a book about sex and grief,
1:00.0	and that's why I wanted to talk to her to learn more about this connection between two things that feel so opposite.
1:07.0	But as we talked, I realized what Joan has to say can apply to anybody, even if you haven't
1:11.9	lost someone. Because most of us have had moments where we've lost touch with our desire.
1:16.7	And according to Joan, we can find our way back.
1:24.0	Joan Price, welcome to Modern Love.
1:26.5	Thank you, Anna. I'm so honored to be here.
	...

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