I have elected to write a creative nonfiction thesis because it serves to demonstrate my proficiency in the areas of rhetoric and composition. This thesis consists of a series of personal essays based on my effort to reclaim my voice as a writer. In order to organize these essays, I used the eight trigrams, or universal elements, found in the ancient Chinese I Ching, Book of Changes. They are: Heaven, Thunder, Water, Mountain, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Lake. One by one, I interpreted each element in an effort to create a transformation narrative, my own Book of Changes. Despite the chaos of my real story, the universal elements offered a grounding for each essay. Each essay illustrates my survival as a woman and as a writer. Although these essays grew out of a deeply personal experience, this thesis is about crafting an essay-reclaiming my voice and my body of writing. / Graduation date: 2003