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Driving to his family’s summer home in Rhode Island, Layng Martine Jr. was delayed by an awful accident. He took a back road to avoid traffic, unaware that he was passing by his wife’s car crash.

On this week’s Modern Love podcast, the actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau reads Mr. Martine’s 2009 essay, “In a Charmed Life, a Road Less Traveled.” It’s a story about finding joy while adjusting to the challenges of a new reality.