Stephanie Sy-Quia's memoir A Private Man explores love, loss, and self-discovery through a sailing trip in Greece

Stephanie Sy-Quia's personal essay recounts a sailing holiday in Greece that precipitated the end of a relationship. In August, she found herself on a 38-foot yacht departing from Loutraki on Skopelos island with her partner and Duncan, a former love from her university days at Oxford whom she hadn't seen in ten years. The trip exposed deep emotional fissures in her current relationship, marked by her partner's emotional distance and refusal of intimacy. Duncan's presence reawakened old feelings, though he declined her subsequent advances due to his own relationship. Following the holiday, which concluded with a flight from Skiathos, Sy-Quia ended her partnership after confronting unmet needs for affection and communication. Two years later, in October, she visited Skyros alone, reflecting on her journey toward self-acceptance. Her memoir A Private Man was published by Grove Press, detailing these experiences of romantic entanglement and personal growth.