Aziz Ansari’s new book Modern Romance hits bookstores on June 16th, but today he shared a lengthy excerpt from the book with Time about how his parents’ relationship has evolved since their arranged marriage, what he’s discovered about smartphones’ effect on finding love, and what he’s learned from his own relationship with his current girlfriend. Here’s just some of the excerpt:
Look at my parents: they had an arranged marriage, and they are totally happy. I looked into it, and this is not uncommon. People in arranged marriages start off lukewarm, but over time they really invest in each other and in general have successful relationships. This may be because they bypassed the most dangerous part of a relationship. In the first stage of a relationship, you have passionate love. This is where you and your partner are just going crazy for each other. Every smile makes your heart flutter. Every night is more magical than the last. During this phase, your brain floods your neural synapses with dopamine, the same neurotransmitter that gets released when you do cocaine. Like all drugs, though, this high wears off after 12 to 18 months. At a certain point, the brain rebalances itself. In good relationships, as passionate love fades, companionate love arises to take its place. If passionate love is the cocaine of love, companionate love is like having a glass of wine.
Read the rest over at Time, and pre-order your own copy of Modern Romance on Amazon.