Ayad Akhtar’s parents met in Pakistan in the early 1960s, when they were both studying medicine and “ridiculously attractive” – or so their friends say. Despite having a love marriage (against their parents’ wishes), their marriage was rock solid from the start.
“When I was four I already knew that my father had ‘other wives’, as my mother called them,” Ayad wrote in his Modern love essay†
But it wasn’t until years later, when Ayad was an adult, that his mother shared her own confession with him. Today Ayad tells his story of seeing his mother in a new light. Then we listen to a Tiny Love Story about a child who recognizes his parent for the first time.
Ayad Aktarwho received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2013, is the author of the novel “Homeland Elegies” and the president of PEN America.
Presented by: Anna Martin
Created by: Hans Buetow, Julia Botero, Elyssa Dudley and Vishakha Darbha
Edited by: Sara Sarasohn
Executive producer: Wendy Dorr
Designed by: Dan Powell
Theme Music: Dan Powell
Original music: Marion Lozano
Essay written and read by: Ayad Aktar
Little love story by: Peyton Roberts
Founder, Modern Love: Daniel Jones
Editor, Modern Love Projects: miya-lee
Special thanks: Mahima Chablani, Renan Borelli, Jeffrey Miranda, Julia Simon, Lisa Tobin, Sam Dolnick, Ryan Wegner and Anna Diamond at Audm.
Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]†