Hey everybody it's Meredith. Today I want to share a special episode of a

podcast called Embodied. It's produced by North Carolina Public Radio, W-U-N-C,

and hosted by Anita Rao. Anita is an excellent journalist who aims to make intimidating topics and health, intimacy

and relationships more approachable.

I sat down with her in 2023 to record the episode we're sharing today. I let her out on everything I know about

breakups from my experience as an advice columnist and as a person who's gone through

heartbreak herself. Because this was recorded shortly after the global pandemic, we talk a lot about the

isolation those going through breakups can experience during such life-altering global

events. So much has changed since then, but I think a lot of our advice still holds true.

I hope you enjoy this episode of Embodied, and if you want to hear more, they have new episodes every Friday.

He described us once as trapeze swingers. Two people aiming toward one another, out for connection but always missing and then

flying in the exact opposite direction. After trying to think our way into a different pattern for the hundredth time, it became clear

that things were too broken to mend. We broke up. And just like that, a seven-year

relationship was in the rearview mirror and I was figuring out how to look

forward. My sister packed my stuff into boxes while he hung out at a coffee shop

and I lay face down on the floor. My best friend made me a temporary sanctuary in her house, and I

discovered for the first time that the term heartbreak is far from a metaphor.

This is embodied.

I'm Anisha Rao.

You've heard of Dear Abbey,

Ask Polly, or maybe even have your own favorite go-to advice columnist.

Well now, we bring you Dear Embodied. embodied.

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