“…to love means to care more about another person’s happiness than about your own…”

Nicholas Sparks’s romantic novel Dear John was first published in 2006. The book was included in The New York Times Best Sellers list in 2007.

Sparks was inspired to write the novel by the life story of his cousin, who served in the United States Armed Forces.

A young woman and a young man meet one summer day and fall in love, but soon the military leave of the main character, John Tyree, comes to an end. He returns to service, followed by a series of unexpected developments.

In 2010, the novel was adapted for the screen.