Keywords

Short stories, novella, fiction, creative writing

Abstract

In Search Of: Stories from the Ones Left Behind introduces five young women-- June, Leila, Kiss, Marianne, and Alma-- who struggle to impede loved ones from abandoning them. One woman confronts her worst fears when she finds out about her husband's affair with a mutual friend; one comes to terms with her sister's poor lifestyle choices; another copes with her mother's sudden marriage; and yet another figures out that in order to keep her fiance, she must be willing to take on responsibilities foreign to her. And then there is the story of Alma, a contemplative but naive seventeen-year-old girl who commits a serious mistake, an act of prostitution, and when her parents find out, she's left with no choice except to leave her hometown before high school graduation. Alma learns that when it comes to the aftermath of mistakes, women often get a double-dose of pain, plus they run the risk of being removed from the family circle. These stories also touch on other themes: mother-daughter relationships; sibling rivalry and communion; adultery; marriage to foreigners; spirituality; atheism amongst a religious family; dependency; and also how contemporary young women deal with relatively successful careers. But the one common thread running through the heart of these women's stories is how they confront the threat of being pushed aside or deserted by a loved one.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2007

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Rushin, Pat

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

English

Degree Program

Creative Writing

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0001841

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0001841

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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