In the past ten or fifteen years, the subject of homelessness has been the topic of countless studies, newspaper and magazine articles, and personal interviews with both homeless people and the professionals in the various fields that explore the issue. Although I have always found them interesting, informative, and heart-wrenching, it has almost always been from the perspective of the subjects- the homeless people- that they have been presented; I cannot remember ever having been informed about the subject by anyone else, except for brief statements by family members whose loved one 'hit the streets' and has not been heard from since. This had a limited impact on me until, for several reasons, my own son became a member of the homeless population living on the streets of Orlando. This paper is my attempt to give my perspective, through prose and poetry, as a parent who has had to cope with, and is still coping with, my son's homelessness due to circumstances both beyond and within his control. It delves into the biological and psychological aspects of his mental illness as well as the environmental factors of his upbringing that most certainly have had an impact on his life, recounts the early attempts of our family to name the problem and find a solution to it, and details some of the present day agony and trauma that comes with having a loved one walking the streets day and night.

Head Above Water demonstrates how cultural roles and changing societies affect the identities of young women struggling through moments of adolescent angst and solitude. Value systems inform cultural identity, and it is important to study, recognize, and challenge them so that we may be enlightened about the human condition. In the formative stages of my thesis, I read fiction by writers from a range of cultural backgrounds who used motifs to signify the complexity of the issues central to their stories. In my stories symbols are juxtaposed as dichotomies-the mask as an obstructer and demonstrator of identity, water as a symbol of fertility as well as oppression, ugliness and beauty both internally and externally, and power versus weakness. In order to achieve an accurate portrayal of industrial and village life in Nigeria, I conducted primary and secondary research. I learned about the verve, flavor, and culture of Nigeria through literature, media, and interviews, and I studied the ways published writers employ voice, physical and material landscapes, and cultural details. My research has informed my thesis, which ultimately centers not only on Nigerian women as mothers and daughters, but on the human condition itself.

This collection of short memoirs explores the dynamics of a family affected by alcoholism and abuse, a family that has survived with a mixture of hard work, bullheadedness, and resignation. Each essay addresses a specific family member and delves into my relationship with that person while touching on larger themes such as marriage, abuse, and family communication. These memoirs deal with some of the marital relationships in my family-what type of husbands the men in our family have been and what type of men the women in our family choose. The first piece in the collection is about my grandfather, a man who drank regularly on weekends and holidays and who could become violent when drunk. The essay about my grandmother deals with how she met and married my grandfather, and one essay addresses my mother's first marriage, which was to an abusive alcoholic. The collection is a link between my present and my family's past, a way of examining the complexities and contradictions of the lives of my mother, my uncle, and my grandparents.

Flannery O'Connor wrote, "It seems that the fiction writer has a revolting attachment to the poor, for even when he writes about the rich, he is more concerned with what they lack than with what they have." The characters herein come from middle-class to affluent backgrounds and they all have problems. Their stories are about identity, value and choice in an age of casual paranoia and subtle dehumanization through mediation and distance. The main buffers between humans and reality are images and language, which, when incorporated into our psychology, allow us to things both horrible and laughable.

When a woman is hurt in a relationship, she may engage in different behaviors to deal with this pain. She may seclude herself, convinced her wiles will bring the man back. She may become detached and run from man to man without second thought. She may shut men off completely and run to females for solace. Or she may rid herself of what caused her pain to begin with. These are some of the possibilities I explore in this thesis - a collection of fiction and poetry from a female perspective that examines a woman's position in a romantic relationship. These characters have been hurt in the past and thus have different ways of coping. Despite their vulnerability, they intentionally put themselves in degrading situations in the hope that they will find a genuine connection. Because they have lowered their standards, they assume they will have an easier time finding someone. They know they are in the wrong places, but ignore that notion to achieve the connection they are looking for, often using sex to achieve that goal. While I make no claims to explain these women's mentalities, I do attempt to show different sides of such women as they struggle through such relationships. Each of these characters wants the same thing from these relationships, flawed or no: love. They merely have different ways of pursuing that goal. It isn't until they realize they've been looking in the wrong places that they begin to analyze themselves and discover who they are. This collection shows how these women move through the progression of their relationships until the point of fracture, when they are forced to make certain decisions. Finally, the relationships fall apart, and the stories and poems show how each character deals with the loss.

This collection of poetry is the voyage of a female speaker searching to find who she is and her place in the world. She seeks to understand her past, varying from childhood up to the more recent years in her life, through retelling the events in detailed descriptions and images and drawing connections with her current life. In addition, she tries to find a balance between reality and her imagination because her perception is often veiled by what she imagines is real in her mind. Driven by a desire for truth and understanding, she finds the love and sense of belonging that she has been searching for, and discovers in perceiving this for the first time that it was there all along.

Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the lock icon and fill out the appropriate web form. / A collection of poems / 2999-01-01T00:00:00Z

Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the lock icon and fill out the appropriate web form. / A collection of short stories and excerpt from the novel / 2999-01-01T00:00:00Z

Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the lock icon and fill out the appropriate web form. / A collection of poems / 2999-01-01T00:00:00Z

Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the lock icon and fill out the appropriate web form. / A collection of poems / 2999-01-01T00:00:00Z