The Painting above is of Cupid and Psyche. This is a very early Greek myth, probably a thousand or so years BC. It was later adopted by the Romans. It tells the story of how sensual love, Cupid, must be united to Psyche, the soul, for a happy ending. This is the most elemental definition of Romance.

This is the introduction to my book, Bedeviled, the Strange Life and Death of Actor Tom O’Rourke.

I’ve thought for a long time about the experiences I had after my husband’s death, which are recounted in my book. I tried very hard to figure out what they mean. 

I believe that what happened to me is ultimately and most importantly about the power of Romance. I’m talking about romance with a capitol R, not just a relationship. 

Okay, we all know that Romance is dead in the modern world. It’s considered old-fashioned, just a silly feminine hang-up. Today, it’s all about hooking up on Tinder and getting laid. Sex, sex, sex. 

Well, after everything I’ve been through, I no longer apologize for being a hopeless romantic. 

Until all this happened to me, I was just like you, an everyday, average person focused on making a living in my chosen career, being married and raising a son. I figured God was out there somewhere and Christianity seemed to have some pretty good ideas on living, but no one would ever have accused me of being spiritual.

I thought I was happily married, except for my husband’s depressions. When he died, it turned out I had been wrong about everything, except our romance. 

Our Romance connected my husband to me so closely that even death could not separate us. In fact, death opened my husband’s heart and soul to me more fully than he’d ever been able to do in life.

Paranormal and psychic phenomena had always seemed ridiculous to me, until it happened to me. 

Now I know that when we love someone romantically, our soul connection survives after death. Romance is what unites our sexuality to our spirituality. So, when you think about it, this makes Romance pretty serious business.

If you want to know how I know this, read Bedeviled. It’s the true story of a very tragic romance. But sad as my romance was, even my very broken, unfaithful, bedeviled husband was still able to reach out to me from beyond the grave. That’s the power of romance, nothing slight or silly about it. It just might save your soul.