“The perfect antidote to my divorcee despair, he looked like a vintage Ryan Gosling and smelled like Mentos candy.”

Joelle Fraser is a MacDowell Fellow and author of two memoirs, “The Territory of Men” and “The Forest House.” Her award-winning work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, and was recognized in Best American Essays. She is currently seeking agent representation for a memoir project. Follow her on Instagram @joellefraserreno. 

This article originally appeared on HuffPost in April 2026.