Loving the Idea

An imagined future can become more compelling than the relationship taking place in the present. Lisa J. Scott examines “idea-love”: the projected stories, mixed signals, and private expectations through which longing can be mistaken for connection and disappointment for potential still waiting to be realized.

The book’s Ledger Card places words beside evidence, apologies beside repair, and intensity beside mutuality. These comparisons bring attention back to the relationship as it is lived, asking what becomes visible when someone stops revising the evidence to protect the story they hoped would come true.