Love has a way of working itself out.

Janice Powell met and married Nate, the love of her life. And he’s just perfect- except when he drinks. After Nate is sent to prison for 8 years, Janice discovers a romance that blossoms and experiences the best years of her married life: love letters, conjugal visits, and the guards and bars keeping Nate’s drunken violence in check.

A version of this story aired on This American Life as part of the show, “My Pen Pal.”