When one of my favorite Youtubers Will Darbyshire announced that he was going to be writing a book, I could hardly contain my excitement. Between the deep, intellectual conversations he urges his viewers to have on his channel (in an incredible British accent I might add) to the aesthetically pleasing vintage-looking shots on his Instagram account, I knew that his viewers were in for a treat.

However, I was caught off-guard when Darbyshire announced the topic of his book: love.

“Love in the modern age is a complex idea. We’re more connected than we’ve ever been, but with that comes its own set of problems,” Darbyshire wrote in his book.

Darbyshire started the book by asking his viewers a series of questions each week, such as “What single image sums up your love life, your partner, or someone you like?” and “What would you say to a crush? Write a letter to them to express it.”

After sifting through over 15,000 responses to these questions, Darbyshire published them in a book in order to create a create a "safe space" for talking about the subject with his audience, regardless of age, background, or experiences.

For me anyways, I’ve never had too much luck in the “love department”; I find it difficult to feel comfortable enough to be completely vulnerable with someone―and, based off of the responses I read in the book, I was able to relate to dozens of others who feel the same way.

This book was not only meant to inspire people to become inspired by love but also to those that have fallen in and out of love many times. Darbyshire divided the book into “beginning,” “middle” and “end,” representing each of the different stages of love; so, in short, there’s truly something for everyone.

Below I have copied some excerpts from the book:

“Dear Crush,

They say after four months, it isn’t a crush anymore, it’s love. It didn’t take me four months to realize that.

Yours always,

Nathalie

London, UK”

“Dear Alex,

Alone in cold sheets,

I imagine us folded like paper

In our origami bed.

And it keeps me warm.

Thank you for being there,

Even when you’re not.

Love,

Freddie

UK”

“Dear you,

I would love if you would give me my heart back, so I can actually mean the word 'love' when I use it again.

Yours even though I know better,

Habiba

Egypt”

Like Darbyshire wrote on the sleeve of his book, “whether we’re in or out of love, we’re not alone”; and his book is a great reminder of just that.

Youtuber and Author, Will Darbyshire