TIME: So many of your books have a medical element, and this one does, too. Sparks: In the end I think it reflects reality, right?Even in the course of my own life, I was 23 years old and my mom was in a [fatal] horseback riding accident, and those last few hours were spent in the hospital. When Cathy and I were married, she had a miscarriage.

And while no one is denying the existence of fuckboys, I hear far more complaints from people who are trying to find relationships, or looking to casually date, who just find that it’s not working, or that it’s much harder than they expected.“I think the whole selling point with dating apps is ‘Oh, it’s so easy to find someone,’ and now that I’ve tried it, I’ve realized that’s actually not the case at all,” says my friend Ashley Fetters, a 26-year-old straight woman who is an editor at The easiest way to meet people turns out to be a really labor-intensive and uncertain way of getting relationships.After a brush with death, I realized that not only had I secluded myself, but I had gone about interacting with others the wrong way: I would put enormous amounts of pressure on myself to impress or to avoid embarrassment.I decided then, as I limped around the hospital with a tube 12 centimeters into my chest and emptying my inner fluids into a box that I held like a purse, that I wanted to meet people. But although meeting people was really difficult for me to do, I decided that it was not as hard as what I had just gone through.(The United States-based convention for formatting a date places the month before the day. ) Write out the month, day and year two inches from the top of the page.Depending which format you are using for your letter, either left justify the date or tab to the center point and type the date. It is always best to write to a specific individual at the firm to which you are writing.My second son Ryan was diagnosed as severely autistic. I can’t tell you how many doctors we saw trying to figure out this diagnosis—it was very challenging. I don’t believe hookup culture has infected our brains and turned us into soulless sex-hungry swipe monsters. It doesn’t do to pretend that dating in the app era hasn’t changed. Tinder arrived in 2012, and nipping at its heels came other imitators and twists on the format, like Hinge (connects you with friends of friends), Bumble (women have to message first), and others.Older online dating sites like OKCupid now have apps as well.If you are not using letterhead, include the sender's address at the top of the letter one line below the date.Do not write the sender's name or title, as it is included in the letter's closing.However, if your letter is completed over a number of days, use the date it was finished in the date line.When writing to companies within the United States, use the American date format.My experience grounded me, and it bestowed clarity.My original post implored others to not be shy, to not apply so much pressure, because life is short.