A bittersweet article (indirectly) on the power of love

Alexandra Marriott laughs and cries as she talks about how she fell in love with Toronto bigamist Oliver Killeen. He broke her heart, but he did change her life, making her believe that at 62, she could be more than a tired grandmother.

She lost 20 pounds during the nine whirlwind months they corresponded. She began dyeing her hair. She wore makeup. She turned off her television and took long walks by the Hudson River near her home an hour north of New York City, listening to music. She returned to reading literature, a passion of her youth ...

Marriott wondered a bit at Killeen's ardour, which seemed extreme, and which developed so quickly after their online meeting. But she admits with a laugh that she soon fell for it, hook, line and sinker. The mother of two grown children and seven adopted special-needs children ages 11 to 19, Marriott operates a medical transcription service from her home. Her online life with Killeen was like a romance novel that she could lose herself in, allowing her to escape the work and worry of her everyday life.

You can read the rest here.