I've already posted about my desire to write a second book.  Remember, I'll need your help in order to write it.  If you'd like to contribute a Learning the Hard Way story, please let me know.  If you have a friend that has learned the hard way, please tell him/her about my project....

In 2003, back before online dating was remotely acceptable, I met a woman from Perth, Western Australia over the Internet. As many of you know, I ended up selling all my stuff and flying across the planet to meet her in person. It was pretty much the adventure of a lifetime, and even though parts of...

A young woman emailed me a couple of weeks ago. I’ve edited the email to make a little shorter: Kuya Kevin, I stumbled on your site and I’ve really enjoyed reading the Learning the Hard Way section. I’d like to share my story. It started when I met this new guy in a chat room. I eventually mov...

Here’s a story a young man sent a few days ago: My ex and I were childhood friends, and then became sweethearts.  We were part of the same youth group here in our local parish.  She was my very first girlfriend and my first sexual experience (we were each other's "first time"). Our relationship ...

Juliet lives like rednecks drive: mashing down the gas with the radio blasting and howling lusty swear words all over the open road. Her stories are full of love and rage, heartbreak and mayhem and sex and drugs and the kind of laughs that rattle the optic nerves. She’s far and away my most ex...

Here it is, half-past 2 pm on a workday and my fly is ALL the way down. Again. I can’t even remember the last time I went to the bathroom here at the office, but it was definitely before lunch. I can, however, remember the last time this happened. Yesterday. And definitely a time or two last w...

I became a Christian at 21, which unfortunately left me with a good few years prior to that to really mess up my life. I started drinking in high school, and by college was a full-on alcoholic. It was a mechanism for fitting in, something I had never been able to do well while being myself. It was d...

A young woman's story of hurt and healing: “Any man would be so fortunate to have you in his life. If I were a man, I would pursue you relentlessly.� This is exactly why I love my best friend. She never fails to make me feel extraordinary. Her words may come across as prejudiced as a result of o...

Because I have absolutely ZERO sense of direction... When reading yesterday's lightning post, please read "south" as "west" and "north" as "east". Thank you very much. ... And weirdly, I do solo road trips, usually get where I'm going, and so far also get back home from them. (knock on wood, since I...

I’m a 22-year-old single guy working in the technological industry. I started working for this small company a couple of years ago. I made many friends here, including my supervisor and his girlfriend. The problem started when I became too close to his girlfriend. I was always comforting her when ...