WHERE THE CRACKS CATCH THE LIGHT

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3921-8959

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

2026

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Duncan Barlow

Abstract

Where the Cracks Catch the Light is a hybrid memoir and poetry collection tracing my father's death, the traumas it forced back into view, and what it means to carry both grief and memory forward. The manuscript circles around grief, childhood sexual abuse, family violence, interpersonal trauma, the reconstruction of identity, and the ongoing, unfinished work of healing. The title comes from a line in "You take everything to heart," where breaking is reimagined: cracks aren't simply damage, they're what lets the light in. Rather than unfolding chronologically, the collection circles and returns the way memory does after trauma, moving through three movements: Loss, Uncovering, and Carrying. Healing isn't finished here, and it doesn't need to be. Grief and love don't disappear; they change shape. Learning to carry both forward, instead of resolving them, is what makes this human.

Subject Categories

English Language and Literature

Keywords

Creative Nonfiction, Grief, Healing, Memoir, Poetry, Trauma

Number of Pages

95

Publisher

University of South Dakota

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